The Harlem Renaissance

A movement of
African-
American
culture in
literature,
dance, music,
and art during
1919 mid-
1930s.

Resulted from the Great Migration following

the First World War, in which many African-
Americans moved to Northern urban cities.
Originated in Harlem,
New York City
 Literature
Harlem Renaissance was a primarily
literary movement.
This was the first time publishers and critics
took African-American writing seriously.

By Langston
Hughes

By Zora N.
Hurston
 Literature
Writing related back to
African-Americans
roots in Africa.
Writing included
poetry, novels, and
magazines.
Described the reality of
being racially
discriminated against.
By Sherwood Anderson
 The Crisis: official magazine
Langston Hughes: of the National Association
poet, novelist, short for the Advancement of
story writer, columnist. Colored People.
 Dance
Swing dance
became very
popular in the
Harlem
Renaissance.
Popular dance
clubs: the Savoy
Ballroom and the
Cotton Club.
 The Cotton Club

Savoy Ballroom
 Music
Jazz and Blues became very popular.
The Apollo Theatre was a venue where many
musicians started their careers, including:

Ella Fitzgerald Sarah Vaughn

Billie Holiday
Jelly Roll Morton: Louis Armstrong: Jazz
Ragtime Pianist Trumpeter and Singer

Duke Ellington: Jazz

Composer, Pianist, and
Bandleader
 Art
Art at this time reflected African American daily life
from many different perspectives.
Artists made bold, stylized portraits of African
American people.
Some art inspired by jazz music of the time:

Jeunesse by
Palmer Hayden
 The Library by Jacob
Lawrence
 Drama
Plays and shows
rejected African
American stereotypes
by having black actors
convey complex
human emotions.

An encyclopedia of African
American Theatre by David
Krasner
 Theatre started with
Three Plays for a
Negro Theatre at the
Chatham Garden
Theatre in NYC.

Chatham Garden Theatre

Acclaimed as the most important single event

in the entire history of the Negro in American
Theatre by James Weldon Johnson in 1917
 Decline of Harlem Renaissance
The Great Depression
created economic
pressure on
organizations like the
National Association
for the Advancement
of Colored People
(NAACP), which was a
main supporter of the
renaissance.
THE
END!