History of Harlem Renaissance - Essay Example

Harlem Renaissance Grade (March 20th, Harlem Renaissance Introduction Harlem Renaissance represents adefining moment in the black American literature, considering that it is a period during which there was an upsurge of literary creativity that was unprecedented. The Harlem Renaissance represents a period between the 1920s and the 1930s, during which the African American writers used their literary skills as a tool for exalting the African culture, while also using their works of literature to express themselves to the world, in a manner that had no happened before (Wintz, 2007). The elite African American writers applied the unique African culture as the platform that would help in redefining the African American expression. This discussion seeks to analyze the concept of Harlem Renaissance, with a view to establishing its history and impact, both in the USA and globally. Discussion This wave of the African American literary rebirth began in the little village of Harlem in upper Manhattan, New York. Soon many young African writers migrated from different parts of the USA into Harlem, to establish a critical mass of young African American creative artists, who embarked on the mission of praising and exalting the African culture (Soto, 2008). This was promoted by many literary works that had been written in the decades and centuries before, which had sought to depict the African culture as inferior. In this respect, the black elite urban migration formed an important aspect of the African cultural phenomenon between 1919 and 1926. This is because, all such black elite and creative writers were migrating to New York and to parts of Washington DC with the sole objective of engaging in creatively literary works that would portray the African culture in different light than had happened before. The 1920s was a period that was marked by an increasingly rise in the black intellectualism, with the blacks also seeking to hold a position in the intellectual world, where they had been isolated for decades, due to their disadvantaged position they had held in the American society as slaves (Trudier, 2003). Therefore, Harlem Renaissance marks a period in the history of the American society when the African American increased their contribution to literature, through the works of black poets, essay writers and fictional writers. Most importantly however, Harlem Renaissance helped not only to transform the nature of the physical literature related to the African American history, but also played a major role in the psychological transformation of old “Negro” culture, which was associated with both intellectual and mind inferiority. This was achieved through putting the black writers and artists in control of the literature that spoke about them (Hutchinson, 1997). The psychological state of the black inferiority, which came to be associated with the identification of the African American as Negros, had risen as a result of the dominance of literature by other ethnicities, which wrote regarding the African and the black culture in an inferiorly biased manner (Wintz, 2007). In this respect, the black culture was painted as inferior to the other cultures, while the blacks intellectualism, intelligence and educational capacity was downgraded far below the rest of the American ethnicities. In retaliation, the Harlem Renaissance, initially started as the ‘New Negro Movement’, was a purely intellectual movement that sought to shape the new focus of the African American culture and intellectualism. This was achieved through applying creative means of counter-attacking the previous demeaning literature regarding the blacks, which had been developed before (Hill, 1998). Previously, the African Americans were not in control of the factors of production within the country. This way, it was within the powers of the other ethnicities to control the nature of literature that would be published in relation to the African Americans (Soto, 2008). However, the rise of the black intellectualism in the early 1920s saw the rise of intellectuals such as Marcus Garvey who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and W. E. B. Du Bois who became the editor of ‘The Crisis magazine’ (Hutchinson, 1997). These key figures paved the way for the African Americans to start having open avenues through which they could be able to openly express themselves through writing. Therefore, this period formed a reconstruction era that allowed the black intellectuals to start applying self-assertion in black literature development, as a means of controlling what could be reflected about the blacks. Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance writers and artists became racially conscious of what they were producing, as opposed to the previous literature that was produced by the black intellectual writers, which was advancing the plight of the African Americans, though in a more seemingly concealed manner. The rise of the Harlem Renaissance created a new wave of literature formulation in relation to the African Americans, where the young black writers became more articulate, downright and absolute in letting the world know that the previous literature that had been dev eloped in relation to the African Americans, was not balanced (Soto, 2008). Therefore, as opposed to previous literature that had been developed in relation to the African Americans, the Harlem Renaissance forms a unique set of black literature formulation that encouraged deeper exploration of the African American culture and experience, through books. The Harlem Renaissance marks a period of the black literature claiming autonomy from the potential exploitation of the white intellectuals, since it represented a period of the African American writers’ effort to take charge and control of their own creativity. This was meant to ensure that they got credit for it, as opposed to previous literature developments that were done by the African Americans, which eventually got the credit of the publishers (Hill, 1998). However, the most important aspect about Harlem Renaissance is the fact that; it created a wave of young and creative black writers and artists, who also sought to keep the independence of their works, both from the white dominance and from the older black intellectuals. This way, creativity could be manifested at the individual capacity, while still ensuring that the overall goal of positively representing the African American culture would be achieved. Throughout the Harlem Renaissance, the black literature writers were able to produce a sizeable amount of African American literature, which was instrumental in reawakening the African American pride, through deeply focusing and exploring the themes of African American alienation and marginalization (Wintz, 2007). To enhance the realization of the positive outlook of the African American culture, Harlem Renaissance applied both the traditional and the modern genres, to ensure that the interest of both the rising generation of modern elites and the traditional generation of intellectuals would effectively be reached by the developed literature (Wintz, 2007). In this respect, the black literature development reflects the diverse and multiple dimensions, through which the African American literature was formulated. The sole intention was to ensure that the whole society would be reached, and in this sense, ensure that the outlook of the black Americans by the whole American and the global society would change. Consequently, throughout the Harlem Renaissance, the combination of the veteran and the young black intellectuals managed to curve a different African American identity, through both an expression of the self-determination of the African Americans to occupy an important part of the American literary world, as well as the application of group expression as the means through which the black identify would be formulated (Hill, 1998). Therefore, while Harlem Renaissance is credited with having managed to raise the profile of the African American community not only in the USA but also throughout the world, the major factor that contributed to this success was the concept of group expression. This is because, while there had emerged a generation of black intellectuals who had tried to change the course of the perception of the African Americans and the black culture from being perceived as inferior, they had barely succeeded to make the change. However, through the concept of group expression, which targeted the same theme though applying different writers’ personal creativity, it became possible to deliver the theme of African American intellectual capacity (Trudier, 2003). Thus, the Harlem Renaissance was an important period of rejuvenating the black identity, which has shaped the position of the black literature as it stands today. Conclusion Harlem Renaissance was a period of transforming the African American culture from the previously inferior and underrated perception, into a culture of pride. The essence of the success of the Harlem Renaissance is the application of the group expression, which saw the combination of the old and the young black intellectual capacity and creativity, to build on the positive identity of the black culture. Initially started as the ‘New Negro Movement’, the Harlem Renaissance eventually became the platform through which most of the young black writers and artists were able to migrate from different parts of the USA into New York and some parts of Washington DC, where they effectively managed make a great contribution towards the establishment of the new perception of the African Americans and their culture. It marks a period through which the black literature managed to break away from the white domination and exploitation, into a well articulated, deeply explored and positively formulated black literature that impacted not only the on USA, but the whole world. References Hill, P. L. (1998). Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Hutchinson, G. (1997). The Harlem Renaissance in Black and White. New York: Belknap Press. Soto, M. (2008). Teaching the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Peter Lang Trudier H. (2003). “Forward” Harlem Renaissance. Farmington Hill, MI: Gale. Wintz, C. D. (2007). Harlem Speaks: A Living History of the Harlem Renaissance. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. Read More