Harlem Renaissance, 1917-1935

Harlem, New York, a large neighborhood in the northern section of New York City Borough of Manhattan, has been known as a major African-American residential, cultural and business center since the 1920s.  The influx of African-Americans into Harlem began with The Great Migration when 5 million southern Blacks moved north and west between 1915 and 1960.  The first large movement occurred during World War I when 454,000 Black southerners moved north to Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and New York.

The Harlem Renaissance was originally known as the "New Negro Experience" named after the 1925 anthology The New Negro: An Interpretation, edited by Alain Loccke.