Harlem Renaissance Discussion

Sociology 0
Title: Harlem Renaissance Discussion
Assignment Name:
Student Name:
Course Name and Number:
Professor:
Date:

Sociology 1
Black Aesthetic
The Black Arts Movement can be dated back to the late 1960s early 1970s. The ‘Black
Aesthetic’ cultural ideology illustrates African-American literary history. The movement was
focused on portraying the strengths, struggles, and joys of the Afro-Americans via poetry,
theatre, visual arts, novels, etc. It began in the US but later spread to southern and western coasts.
The expansion was facilitated with the help of communal exchange programs and transitional
movements of artists like Ntozake Shange, Amiri Baraka, and many more (Frederick, 2016).
Harlem- a Global Community
Harlem brought together artists from various fields such as artists, musicians, novelists,
poets, writers, and more. Black people all over the world faced similar issues and Harlem
provided pride in being ‘black’. Moreover, black women also had key roles to play, unlike the
role of women in American societies at the time. The global context of Harlem is clearly visible
in the literary context- ‘Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro’. The movement was not restricted to
America, it went global, regions like Russia, Italy, Mexico, and many others identified
themselves with the Harlem and thus making it a global community (Johnson, 2006).

Sociology 2
Central themes of Black Intellectuals
 Criteria for Negro Art- In his essay, W.E.B Du Bois, illustrated the Harlem
Renaissance and the complicated subject like racism. The work also discusses African-
American history. The key element of this essay was the value of black arts. Du Bois was
a Black liberationist and his view was that art should be political. He firmly believed that
the standards of the Black people must be lifted by the Harlem Renaissance (DuBois,
2016). Also, thorugh art, racial developments and advancement can be achieved.
 Meaning of the New Negro- ‘The New Negro’ was edited by Alaine Locke and is
comprised of poems, short stories, essays, etc. It portrayed the group of new Afro-
American writers and artists. The situations surrounding the ‘New Negro’ appeared and
presented its rhetorical purpose. It has literary as well as visual artifacts. It is viewed as a
racial proclamation. It dashed its existence in the minds of people and the Harlem
Renaissance- a vital part of the Negro world (Williams, 2008).
 A New Black Aesthetic- Trey Ellis provided a coherent expression to the authenticity of
young African-American artists. This expression found by him is ‘New Black Aesthetic.’
It is concerned about the artistic expressions of the Black people. Moreover, it asserts that
blackness is not a status rather it is a practice. It is a way of cultivating new developments
that threaten the existing dominant cultural rules. The Black experience can be observed
in this literary work. The New Black Aesthetics is often referred to as the new art
movement declaration. ‘Black culture’ is not only about Black people, in fact, but they
are also completely secure about claiming artistic works of non-black people as a part of
their inheritance (A.T. Judy, 2010).