Harlem+Renaissance

=The Harlem Renaissance=

Harlem was a safe place for the newly freed black men and women to practice and exercise their new lifestyles. Being the "Capital of Black America," Harlem became home to many great minded African Americans in history.

At the close of the Civil War, a wave of education and employment opportunities swooped in for African Americans. This uproar in African American advancement created the first black middle-class.The only problem was the black people expected fairness and equality in living and pay compared to the white people. Racial segregation sparked, however, after the //Plessy v. Ferguson// Supreme Court Case in 1896. When the South hit an economic depression, millions of black people migrated to the North; where racism was less brutal than in the southern states. Respectively, the North granted freed black men the right to vote. This huge occerrence, where over 7 million black people moved further north, was known as the Great Migration.

Housing executives began creating developments within Harlem for white workers who wished to commute in the city. They forgot to plan out transportation services, however, and as a result, lost all white buyers. The fustrated contracters began selling these now vacant developments to black realtors and families. Meanwhile, more and more black people began to push away from the Metropolitan area of the city and move toward Harlem. Within these large groups of people came famous black advocates, entrepreneurs, artists, and intellects. Their businesses began to spread around Harlem, making it the Black Mecca.

During the early 1900s, blacks began pushing for racial equality. New York was ground zero for the Civil Rights Movement, whereas three of the largest civil rights groups establed headquarters there. Two famous leaders in these groups included: W.E.B. Dubois, founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People); and Marcus Garvey, founder of the UNIA-ACL (Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League). " Together, these groups helped to establish a sense of community and empowerment for African-Americans not only in New York, but also around the country. In addition, they provided a rare opportunity for whites to collaborate with black intellectuals, social activists, educators, and artists in an attempt to transform a largely segregated and racist American society." (Harlem-Biology).

Harlem underwent stages of art, literature, and jazz music to attempt to "lift the black people out of their situation." Many famous African Americans contributed to this stage of the Renaissance: poet Langston Hughes; artist Aaron Douglas; novelist Jean Toomer; and musicians Bing Crosby and Duke Ellington.

The ironic part about the Harlem Renaissance is why it was so popular to begin with. When Harlem began livening up with literature, art, and music, it was the white people's infatuation with those particular fine arts that publicized Harlem. The Harlem Renaissance ended in the late 1920s for two major reasons: violence, and the Great Depression.

Works Cited from:  Harlem Renaissance. Biology.com. [] October 31, 2011.