The covers of the Crisis are able to communicate the changing circumstances that African Americans faced in America. Some of those cover images on the magazines depict moments of hardship as well as moments of prosperity they have gone through from the time up to and time during the Harlem Renaissance. The covers of the Crisis also convey the quickly growing literary movement that increased chances for African Americans to be able to display their latent talents to anyone that would look, listen or read. Opportunities to be able to express themselves through art and writing increased exponentially. “The trope of the New Negro did not disappear between 1904 and the 1920s, when it resurfaced as the sign of the literary movement that contained the new black voice.” (Gates 146). This line taken from The Trope of a New Negro and the Reconstruction of the Image of the Black mentions how African Americans are expressing themselves through more outlets to show their talents through media and be able to claim ownership of those creations.

The Crisis magazine covers are written for all interested patrons but with a certain emphasis for both African American readers and White readers. African Americans are able to look at the Crisis covers and appreciate the representation of themselves, whether it be positive affirmations or depictions of the current struggles at the time. For open minded White viewers, the magazine created an opportunity for them to learn things they may not have known about African American culture. Many interesting creations of music, art and literature are able to be displayed at a high volume through the increase in outlets such as Crisis magazine. Opportunities that were essential in diminishing the highly misguided notions of the past. There is a passage in Harlem, Mecca of the new Negro, on page 632, that speaks to these points. “In the intellectual realm a renewed and keen curiosity is replacing the recent apathy ; the Negro is being carefully studied, not just talked about and discussed. In art and letters, instead of being wholly caricatured, he is being seriously portrayed and painted.” (Locke). This quote from Locke’s piece is presenting how viewers of works such as the Crisis covers are able to feel a sense of enlightenment, helping both race groups to learn and think outside the box.

The Crisis covers became a major form of Black representation in the United States, drawing interest from readers that would end up learning a lot from the magazine. I believe the photographs or illustrations used for those covers implied that there was much more to know about African Americans than what was perceived before the release of Crisis. There were many covers that would show positive characteristics such as people posing, dressed up in suits or dresses and ones with small toddlers on them. There were also covers that were more aggressive, depicting war and other hardships. I feel as though having both types of covers implied that from then on everyone was going to know the full story of what it is like for Black people in America.