The Harlem Renaissance

1920s-1930s-The Harlem Renaissance

Alan Locke (1926) 'Negro seizing its first chance for group expression and self determination' .

• Three plays for the Negro theatre were written by a white playwright but expressed the emotions of the black people.

• Harlem also saw lots of famous jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington.

• The black music style gained popularity from the whites.

• Fashion also changed with the black dancer Josephine Baker becoming a source of inspiration for blacks and whites alike.

• By 1914, 40% of Harlem's private houses and 10% of its tenants were owned by blacks.

Why Harlem?

• There were already black residents since the 17th century

• It was after 1905, that mas black migration to the area began.

• A price crash made property cheap-landlords were desperate for tenants of any colour.

• Many moved there due to race riots in other areas of New York.

• Some black tenements had been demolished to make way for a railway station.

• Sense of home

• Stronger together-emergence of the NAACP, Centre of civil rights advocates.

• By 1910, the NAACP was active

• Black activist like DuBois lived there

• Black music and dance attracted white patrons such as in nightclubs, theatres and speakeasies.

It is also important to know that the NAACP were not the only organisations who wanned change.

Marcus Garvey was the founder of the UNIA (United Negro Improvement Association) and wanted people to fight for their rights. He wanted a more radical response.

He won the support of black urbanites (people who lived in the city) who were upset at the lack of black progress after the First World War.

His 'Negro World' newspaper was the only black publication that rejected advertisements for 'race degrading' products. Famous for the phrase 'Black is Beautiful'