Reading through these works of literature written during this era has given me an insight of the kinds of self-image the communities where the Harlem Renaissance took place in possessed that helped them become successful. Representation and self-image were deeply correlated with racial self-esteem. It isn’t difficult to see there were issues of racial self-esteem present during this era. Black people in this era had their humanity and history taken from them and were told that they were descendants of no significant people, just slaves. Plenty of prominent black figures felt this way as well. Including W.E.B. DuBois, who worked hard in improving the representation and self-image of black people of his time by establishing The Crisis magazine and being involved in establishing the NAACP. This issue of a lack of racial self-esteem stands out to me because it seems that black people in the 21st century still struggle with this case of self-image and representation. People of the 1920s and 30s had way more limitations in opportunity than anybody living in the 21st century could ever imagine, yet they were fearless, bold, and courageous. The kind of bold and fearless attitude Alain Locke had when he claimed there was going to be “a new negro” in that oppressive era is the kind of attitude black people today need to have in order to see socioeconomic and cultural success. Instead of the victimhood mentality that these communities of color publicize all the time nowadays.
Black leaders and professionals in this era experienced lives that very likely had them perceive themselves as people who couldn’t accomplish what the whites could, but they persevered and changed that narrative. Black creators in this era like Alain Locke were born into either lower class, or if they were lucky, even middle-class upbringings. This would expectedly prevent them from making the impact they made on American culture. Alain Locke advocated for the transformation of the public image that black people of this era had, making the phrase “the New Negro” a popular thing. In his essay “Enter the New Negro” in the publication “Survey Graphics”, Locke described the social change he foresaw for blacks in America. He writes, “The day of ‘aunties’, ‘uncles’, and ‘mammies’ is equally gone. Uncle Tom and Sambo have passed on…”. (Locke,631-634). People like Locke were saying no to stereotypes and saying yes to change. This was a cultural shift of self-image and racial self-esteem that were taking place in the black communities in this era, and it is a big factor in the reasons to why the black community saw progress and social and economic success in this time period. W.E.B. DuBois is another black leader who had devotions of uplifting his race. In his lifetime he established the civil rights organization the NAACP and he even created the Negro magazine publication “The Crisis”. These aims were established to better empower the already burdened self-image of the American negro. In his essay “The Talented Tenth”, Dubois writes “The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people. No others can do this, and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men.” (DuBois, 75). DuBois wanted black people to have a sense of racial pride and believed it would lead to their success.
DuBois felt as if black people should uplift themselves and they must have art that appreciates the culture and beauty of the race. He believed, as he should, in recognition and representation in art and media. Which is why he established the publication and magazine known as “The Crisis”. A negro magazine that highlighted the beauty of black culture. In this publication, he posted an essay on the impact’s negro art can have and how these impacts could better help the negro image. In the essay, named “Criteria of Negro Art” he writes, “I do not doubt that the ultimate art coming from black folk is going to be just as beautiful, and beautiful largely in the same ways, as the art that comes from white folk, or yellow, or red; but the point today is that until the art of the black folk compels recognition they will not be rated as human. And when through art they compel recognition then let the world discover if it will that their art is as new as it is old and as old as new”. (DuBois, 290-297). It is a fact that better representation in media and arts could raise the self-esteem of blacks in America and change how they feel about themselves, all together leading to their success.
As James Wheldon Johnson described it in “The Making of Harlem”, Harlem was quite possibly “the greatest Negro city in the world” for the era of the Harlem Renaissance. It was the ground at which African Americans saw a revival of their culture and made progress like never before. Harlem during this Renaissance was a cultural mecca. The works of literature from the Opportunity hold the experiences and journey of African Americans as they went from (how Kelly Millers would call it) the corn field to congress. In Miller’s “Where is the Negro Heaven”, he emphasizes, “These were days of sudden and swift transformation for black folk. Lucky Negros were translated from the corn field to congress.” (Miller, 370). These items tell us the social progress that was made by these people as well as the progress they had on society. Not only was it a cultural mecca Harlem was also a state of opportunity. Where there were ambitious and hungry creators of African descent, there weren’t many places where they could have the full advantage working as they would in a place like Harlem. It helped these artists and writers lay their foundation to their full potential and gain more control over their business and the industries they worked in. That is what another thing that black Americans need besides a change in self-image, but also a community that can serve as their workstation.
It is a known truth that the black community of this era was prolific and undefeatable. Why was this? What is stopping the community from thriving again? NOTHING! The simple message of my argument is the community needs to have a change of self-image and self esteem, and we’ll see success and fruitfulness of culture once again.
Citations:
Alain Locke, “Enter the New Negro,” Survey Graphic, (March 1925), pp. 631-634
WEB DuBois, The Talented Tenth, (September 1903), pp. 75
WEB DuBois, The Crisis, Criteria of Negro Art, Vol. 32, October 1926: pp. 290-297
Miller, Kelly. December 1926. “Where is the Negro Heaven”. “Opportunity” pp. 370