During our trip to the MET, we got to see the beauty of this historical art, seeing something in person is always a much different feeling than just seeing it online it feels more impactful.  Showing the modern world treasures from this point in time, how they could have been interacted with and how they could have invoked a sense of pride within people from that time period and now. The power that things from our past can have on our present time, how many people can find inspiration in something that happened so long ago. When you dare to see the world for what it can be instead of what it seems to be then only then have you become someone who is ready to see and make a change, to inspire others to create new beautiful things. In recent times things can appear to not be better, that this cycle of hate will prosper until the end of time and for those who have lived through it feels endless.  almost a hundred years from the start of the Harlem renaissance and so much progress has been made, the world has changed and we must keep pushing for that change.

Creating the Crisis magazine was a great trump card to help move the anti-black rhetoric that was being printed in pretty much every racist newspaper. There was a preference to have things move to the magazines instead of newspapers because of the tension between black and white publishers. Pg 71 talks about how racist white newspapers would take the headlines of black newspapers and be antagonistic towards them. Also how the magazine is more commercially viable by being more trendy. Mainstream news was depicting African Americans in this stereotypical light so it was easier to maintain the image of hate against them, On pg.74 it talks about how African American intellectuals would point out these stereotypes and they’re being misrepresented by these people in power.

when you take a look at the magazine one covers it screams “we’re human too, with our own culture and art”, and that was the point of them to inform people that there were so many more layers beneath the surface to what they being told by major media outlets. Putting the African American identity out in the public face, to share and teach others about their beautiful culture. De Bois was adamant about getting this image out there, that’s why he chose the magazine over books and newspaper articles. It’s really impressive marketing with the covers to the contents inside the magazine, while this definitely had no pushback it was very successful in just making a difference in the way society viewed African Americans. Taking strides to make a change and being very successful at it, an important step note to the acceptance of African Americans into mainstream society. Showing people that something g that different doesn’t make it any less amazing, that something beautiful will always be beautiful and if you open your perspective a little more you can enjoy a whole new world of arts.

At first glance, Harlem Wine by Countee Cullen feels like a poem about moving forward while pushing through your fears. But I believe it means more than just that. When I read this poem I feel like it’s a wake-up call, something to inspire people not just to push through the fear of what can happen in their day-to-day life just for the color of their skin. But the fear of not embracing who they are and where they come from, like their music and dancing.  At the very least not forget where they came from, “so it has ways to flow upon”. This message provokes an urge to preserve and share, not just with the people from your culture but with the world. Sharing the beautiful things of your culture’s past and present.

Page 660, By Countee Cullen,  Harlem,       Mecca of The New Negro 1925

The Black Finger, it’s probably not the middle one if Angelina Grimke is saying “a most beautiful thing”. I don’t believe there is a hidden message in this poem, it’s just beautiful. looking forward to what lies ahead for everyone, I don’t think she’s only talking to a black finger as she asks “are you black?”. maybe she was alluding to a future where the color of skin didn’t matter all that mattered is to keep looking forward. The imagery used in the poem is so vague yet direct, that it could be talking to anyone. All the writer wants to know “Why are you pointing upwards?”, Color of the skin isn’t very relevant just a part of the bigger picture.

Page 661, By Angelina Grimke, Harlem,     Mecca of The New Negro 1925

Both of these poems have a similar message, phrased in different ways and with different audiences. “Harlem Wine” by Countee Cullen seems to be aimed at the African American audience who are becoming more independent and integrated into society, by telling them that it’s ok to move away from your roots as long as you honor and remember them and don’t abandon your past for your present. Angelina Grimke’s “The Black Finger” was a more general message to any that could read it, we look forward to the future for better days, and a stronger society. Both of these poems feel like they were perfect for then and now, a lot of things continue to change and stay the same but everyone can take something away from both of these wonderful pieces of art.

It’s important to hear a poem read aloud not only in your own voice but in someone else’s, it could reveal a hidden emotion you didn’t pick up on your read through it. or how it was meant to be read, pacing, pronunciation, and emphasis, I lack a high level of skill in poem reading when it comes to picking up the emotion the writer is trying to evoke so hearing someone can help a lot with the dissecting of the poem. Sometimes just getting a slightly different perspective can help inspire and promote great ideas from out of thin air.

This image is displayed through many of the headers throughout the archive, it has a very authentic African feel to it. With the geometric shapes and sharp angles, I believe it represents a black man most likely. I don’t feel a deeper message behind this image besides the beauty of the art itself, some things don’t need a deep message beauty is more than enough. While skimming through the archive this was what caught my eye the most, the number of times it was used and how it was almost exclusively used in the header splitting words and making it feel more “full”. It also didn’t help that most of the other images on the Google book were completely missing but this is a good option nonetheless.

Page 9, Google Archive, Page 2, Opportunity, January 1925 Vol.3

A bunch of drawings of people’s faces starts showing up, Dr. Blanch C. Williams. She was a professor of English literature and head of the English department at Hunter College. Just like all the other faces from that page and onward she was very successful and intelligent, breaking the glass ceiling that many deemed impossible at the time but realized that it’s not that’s hard as long as you work hard and have a lot of determination. As they say, you make your own luck, and that’s what a lot of these people did. When you think about the history of this nation not a lot of people think about the trials black people have gone through to succeed, even after the abolishment of slavery. Dark days have loomed over and they’re not spoken about in schools or just skimmed through, archives like this make you curious and help you learn new things about the people of the time. Things you probably would’ve never gone over in Highschool history.

Page 183, Google Archive Page 176, Opportunity, June 1925

While searching through the archive there are many lovely poems,  “Moonlight” by Herschell Bek is one of my favorites. This poem talks about the gentle touch of moonlight and how much the moon has seen more than we could ever hope to imagine, it also has a very religious air to it mentioning “Jesus” multiple times. Art doesn’t need an explicit meaning to be vital to history, it can show a trend a movement of the mindset of people at large and small scales. I believe this is one of many poems of the time that show growth in the African American community, it had an opportunity (no pun intended) to appear in Opportunity and be a part of this archive. When you look at these smaller details that you’ve never really considered you can see a trend in the world that you may not have picked up on otherwise. Despite the lack of direct a direct message aimed at the struggles of African Americans opts to go for something more people can relate to religion. Religion is a very strong base that a lot of people relate to especially back then when things seemed grim at best.

                              Page 129, Google Archive Page 122, Opportunity, April 1925

These items that I’ve hand-picked tell me that Harlem was a place for people to grow into these big influencers not only in their own neighborhood but every well-known and unknown figure that was a part of this movement made a statement. That statement is “you can think of us as you’d like but we’re here to stay if you like it or not”. Showing the world that they are more than just what stereotypes made them out to be. From art, personal achievements, and literature this screamed “we are the same as you, and we have beautiful things to share with the world”.

The poem “Moonlight” by Herchell Bek, is not a very strong poem in terms of moving you to feel a certain way, it’s just a good poem with religious tones talking about the lives the moon has overseen. DR. Blanch C. Williams, not a figure you would hear about in a regular history class, still excelled in what she did and could be considered a trailblazer for those who followed her in this search for black excellence and personal achievement. No doubt she struggled with many hardships, but overcame them and became one of the many who broke the glass ceiling. The tribal image, respecting the culture of where it comes from being shared with people all over, looking at it over and over again in the headers, and seeing similar drawings throughout, you can feel the significance that it can hold for African Americans, especially that older generation.

This is what the Harlem Renaissance is a world of culture never seen on this side of the world being shown off to all that will bear witness, but also a group of people who are ready and willing to push themselves to their limits to achieve great things for themselves and others.

In my blog post, I want to focus on the life all the forms of art, literature, and music took on during the Harlem Renaissance. So many things of big and small impact, some gems that never got the attention they deserved during their own time. It’s easy to sit and look back to things that happened so long ago and give it an “ooooo” or an “ahhhhhh” and say you appreciated it, but the details, the strokes, the subtle humming of the singer, the italicized letters and then to understand their purpose or lack of. When you decide what you describe as important or significant enough to give something substantial meaning it can make you tunnel vision, and lose track of other important features, like how a painting is framed, or how paragraphs are styled. Both ways are important if you truly want to understand things that can get so  complex so fast.

https://youtu.be/FIRdvFfpDIA

The article “How African American Art and Culture Blossomed During the Harlem Renaissance by Kelly Richman-Abdou ” talks about how and why certain things happened during the Harlem renaissance like the “great migration”, which was African Americans fleeing the south. The great migration happened between 1916-1917 so well before the events of the Harlem renaissance, White supremacy was running rampant in the south so they migrated to the north. And you may ask how this ties into the overall theme of my blogs but this is such an important part of the larger story if these people weren’t brave enough to leave the lives they knew for the chance to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones than maybe the Harlem Renaissance would still happen but at a later date.

Also that there was a Harlem Artist Guild, I’ve never heard of it before now but it sounded like it was a very cool thing to be a part of off it’s not still active today. They advocated for the neighborhood’s African American artists, by encouraging young talent to express themselves. The guild’s main purpose was to make sure that these young artists could get their work out there so that the world could truly appreciate their African American culture. Around the time of the inception of the guild the “Jazz era” would start very soon after, and would become a major talking point for the guild and for people just interested in African American culture.

This article does a little more of the same but gives a much greater view of the key ideas and accomplishments that happened during the Harlem Renaissance, such as the movement being referred to as the “New Negro” movement referring to Locke’s “The New Negro” and since the Harlem Renaissance overlapped with the Great Depression we’re employed by the government.  A program called Works Progress Administration supported African Americans in a huge way to help them through those trying times. Finding them jobs and employing artists to do some government work so they could continue to be a part of the economy. This could be considered a building block for the Harlem Renaissance, just by the support that the government was providing not only to them but for the whole country.

Bird singer

William H Johnson

Can fire in the park

Beauford Delaney

Les Fètiches

Loïs Mailou Jones

Some beautiful pieces of art are displayed on the website with their respective titles and artists, so many of these beautiful pieces just exist, with no rhyme or reason just for some eye candy for people to appreciate. That is some of the best art out there, the art is just made to be made not trying to prove anything to anyone. That is when you can tell a movement has done its job to inspire people to go out there and try new things and share their art with the world. All art has a meaning to it, and in most art, that meaning is down to the person perceiving it, or a message the artist is trying to get across. Art is such a powerful tool to use to rally people to a cause something that can change the way we look and interact with the world, the broad strokes that it can cover from all corners of every topic make it so much fun to analyze and appreciate. There is a privilege to be able to look back at the corners of history and see what the people in our past made/did, and being able to see it through eyes that know so much more about the world and how we live so that we may be able to appreciate it at a simple touch of our smart devices.

During the Harlem Renaissance, African American culture showed the world how that it is just as good as every other culture, that just because they were oppressed that their culture was still alive and strong.  That their stereotypes of them meant nothing, that they were just as human and have just as much history as the rest of the on-looking world. Even having the desire to co-exist with the people that have oppressed them for so long, to share their culture with the all that would accept it. Leaders of The Harlem Renaissance encouraged others to create build and shape this image that the world had forced onto them and remold it, making it their own not someone else’s. something for them to have pride in, that their culture has beautiful things to experience for everyone, that it’s not gatekept out of the bitterness of the mistreatment after all these years.

This blog post is all about how we can appreciate the ways art was handled and made during their respective time periods so that we can honor the artists from our past and as we try to understand how they lived and saw the world during their time on this earth. When you think about art I hope that you can see it for more than just color on a canvas, sound, or writing on paper and really appreciate the journey it’s been on.