The Harlem Renaissance
This movement was in the 1920's and early 1930's. It had a big influence on urban centers throughout the United States. It involved cultural matters such as drama, literature, music, art, and dance. It also involved social thought. The American people challenged racism and the black population turned down trying to be like the white people in their style of culture. People discovered new ways to show the art of the black American culture. The whole idea of this Harlem Renaissance was for the black people to start celebrating their natural culture instead of imitating the white Americans and the Europeans.
The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was from about 1955-1965. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which guaranteed all Americans basic civil rights including African Americans. This all occured after many protests and marches, including the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and 1996 and the other student led sit-ins that occured in the same decade.
Compare/Contrast Time Periods
These movements were similar because they both helped the African Americans. They were however, a bit different in how they helped these people. One gave them freedom of expression while the other gave them the rights and freedoms stated in the Constitution.
Harlem Renaissance Art
-A famous musician from the Harlem Renaissance movement is Louis Armstrong. A very significant song that he sang was "Moon River" in the 1920's. The lyrics to this song show that life is like crossing a wide-streamed river and the struggles you must go through as you attempt to follow your sought out dreams. This embodies the time period because it shows the struggle of the people and how they dreamt to be treated equally to the white-Americans.
-A famous artist from the Harlem Renaissance movement is Palmer Hayden. A piece of art he did in the Harlem Renaissance was "Jeunesse". It was a painting of a group of African Americans dancing to jazz music. This is significant because jazz music was greatly spread throughout America during the Harlem Renaissance and the piece shows the excitement it brought to the black Americans.
-A famous male writer during the Harlem Renaissance was Claude McKay. He was a black writer who wrote "Home To Harlem". This was a story about a veteren of World War I and his story of coming home during the Harlem Renaissance. This was significant during the time period because it showed how life was for black Americans going into the Harlem Renaissance.
-A famous female writer during the Harlem Renaissance was Zora Neale Hurston. She wrote "Jonah's Gourd Vine". It was the story of a man with multiple loves. In this novel Zora Neale Hurston shows that faith and good intentions can't change things that are spiritual and physical. People say that she made this old dilemma come so alive that she truly understood human nature.
The Civil Rights Movement Art
-A famous musician from this movement was Bob Dylan. He wrote the song "Blowin' in the Wind" which raised the question of civil rights equality with the lyric: "How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?" This song showed the struggling of people who felt like they weren't treated human because of the limited rights they were allowed.
Lyrics: How many roads must a man walk downBefore you call him a man?Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sailBefore she sleeps in the sand?Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls flyBefore they're forever banned?The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,The answer is blowin' in the wind.How many times must a man look upBefore he can see the sky?Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man haveBefore he can hear people cry?Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knowsThat too many people have died?The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,The answer is blowin' in the wind.How many years can a mountain existBefore it's washed to the sea?Yes, 'n' how many years can some people existBefore they're allowed to be free?Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,Pretending he just doesn't see?The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,The answer is blowin' in the wind.
-A famous artist from this movement was Norman Rockwell. He painted the portrait "The Problem We All Live With" which is a painting of a young African American girl walking on the street. It shows the concern that people had with the future generations of African American people with their limitations in rights and freedoms that was going on in this time period.
-A famous male writer from the Civil Rights Movement was James Baldwin. He wrote "Go Tell It on the Mountain" which became an American classic published in 1953. He used lyrical precision and symbolism to show the story of a fourteen-year-old boy and his encounter with his identity being the step-son of a minister. This is similar to the way people were feeling in the Civil Rights Movement because this boy is identifying himself and understanding who he is, whereas, the African Americans of this time were trying to understand why they weren't being included as humans among men in America.
-A famous female writer from this movement was Lorainne Hansberry. She wrote a very famous play called "A Raisin In the Sun" which was the story of a struggling black family all living together under one roof. This story showed the struggles for living and for money that many black families had trouble with before the amendments were passed for equality.
