Harlem Renaissance
Between the end of World War One and the mid-1930’s, one of the most significant cultural Black communities in the nation’s history formed—the Harlem Renaissance. Despite the name, these cultural communities occurred in various cities throughout the United States, including Cleveland and Los Angeles. The Harlem Renaissance included various forms of expressional identities including poetry, prose, painting, sculpture, jazz, swing, opera, and dance.
Contextually, the Harlem Renaissance occurred during a time that encouraged brutal acts of violence and vicious pogroms against marginalized peoples. Black elites supported white ideologies that advocated for “racial uplift,” or assimilation, to counter racist representations of and attacks against black people. Many Black intellectuals believed that repressing their anger would allow them to persuade white elites to intervene as they only responded to reasoned dialogue. As a result, Black artists faced many constraints. The thing that united the diverse forms of expression that arose during the Harlem Renaissance was their realistic presentation and embodiment of what it meant to be black in America, leading to a renewed militancy in asserting their civil and political rights.
Some of the most influential women of the Harlem Renaissance included:
- Performers: Josephine Baker
- Writers and Poets: Zora Neale Hurston and Effie Lee Newsome
- Visual Artists: Augusta Savage
- Musicians: Billie Holiday, Ivie Anderson, and Josephine Baker
At the height of the movement, the Harlem Renaissance was a prominent center for Black culture and identities. The neighborhoods boasted various African American-owned and run publishing houses and newspapers, music companies, playhouses, nightclubs, and cabarets. As the 1920s ended, so did the Harlem Renaissance, largely affected by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the resulting Great Depression. This hurt Black-owned businesses and publications, making it extremely difficult to find financial support for the arts from patrons, foundations, and theatrical organizations alike.
