Alain Locke and the Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was originally known as the “New Negro Experience” named after the 1925 anthology The New Negro: An Interpretation, edited by Alain Locke

Alain Locke (1885-1954) was an American writer, philosopher, educator and patron of the arts. He was the first African American Rhodes scholar in 1907 and was called the “Father of the Harlem Renaissance.”

“The younger generation comes, bringing its gifts. They are the first fruits of the Negro Renaissance. Youth speaks, and the voice of the New Negro is heard.” Alain Locke, The New Negro, page 47.