Changing Times and the Harlem Renaissance

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Harlem Renaissance, also known as the Black Literary Renaissance and The New Negro Movement, began in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City. The author points out that the Harlem Renaissance promoted changes in music, literature, poetry and architecture. The paper relates that these changes started in the black community following the abolition of slavery and were quickened as a consequence of World War I. The author underscores that the Harlem Renaissance can be seen as the African-American cultural response to the great social and cultural changes taking place in America in the early twentieth century under the influence of industrialization and the start of a new mass culture. The paper describes Georgia Douglas Johnson, who wrote poetry and plays as an important player in this literary and cultural movement.

Outline:
I. The History of the Harlem Renaissance
A. The way the Harlem Renaissance started
B. How the Harlem Renaissance got its name
II. The changes that were made
A. The change in politics
B. The changes in the arts
III. Georgia Douglas Johnson
A. A brief biography
B. Her influence on the Harlem Renaissance

From the Paper:

"The Harlem Renaissance was a time of excitement and change for all of those who participated. It took many people to change the things that these people changed. Everything changed from music, art, movies, and politics. Many African- Americans from the southern states moved to Harlem during this time. The African- American community had established a middle class in many cities, with New York City being one. This time of movement can be referred to as the Great Migration. The Great Migration brought thousands of African- Americans to the northern cities like Cleveland, Chicago, and Philadelphia."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Georgia Douglas Camp and Judith Louise Stephens. The Plays of Georgia Douglas Johnson: From the New Negro Renaissance to the Civil Rights Movement. 2006 University of Illinois Press.
• Harlem Renaissance Poetry. 28 Jan. 2008 http://www.world-class- poetry.com/HarlemRenaissance.htm
• Harlem Renaissance. 28 Jan. 2008. http://www.levity.com/corduroy/harlem.htm
• The Harlem Renaissance. "Galileo" Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. 17 Sept. 2003. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Avticle.jsp?id=h-989
• Langston Hughes. 1926.http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/langstonm-hughes

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