In class on Feb 3 reviewed our common associations with the Harlem Renaissance as well as things that surprised us. We noted that while we knew entertainment was a part of the age– the extent to which the arts expresses black identity became more clear after watching a 2 min history:
And discussing “Enter the New Negro” by Alain Locke, we further noted that the Harlem Renaissance was also about an emerging spirit.
(Left to Rght) “In what historical context does the Harlem Ren. emerge–“why Harelm?–density” “Creating an image; From Gates (secondary source); from Locke (of the moment)
Timeline: Emancipation Proclamation–Freedman/former slaves–>”Negro Problem”; Radical Reconstruction [ends with] Compromise of 1877. Union troops leave and gov’t in the hands of South again; rollback of [black ] rights; The Nadir (1890-1910) The Bloody 1890s, rise of Jim Crow, lynching, disenfranchisement; WWI ends in 1919 (Black soldiers and newfound sense of democracy), Great Migration, Urbanization and industrializationOur class comments on Harlem as a place with a dense population where lots of people could interact also proved useful for considering the movement, especially with the work in Survey Graphic: Harlem Mecca of the New Negro.
At the end of class, we came up with a series of hashtags for Crisis magazine covers based on an initial scroll. #rawart, #blkhair, #personhood, #stillpoppin
