The Harlem Renaissance | Arts and Humanities

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Arts and Humanities
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Author Note

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SOCIOLOGY
The Harlem Renaissance can be defined as the period which witnessed an explosion of
social intellect and artistic fervor in Harlem, New York City. It was also referred to as the New
Negro Movement during the time being. The name was adopted from an anthology named The
New Negro, which was edited by Alain Locke (Baker, 2013). The thesis of this paper is to
discuss Harlem Renaissance, its importance, time and lasting effects it has left on the society and
the world.
There was a significant expression of African American culture in various urban areas in
the Midwest and Northwest part of the United States, resulting due to the Great Northward
Migration of the blacks. Harlem, thus was the largest manifestation of it. The attempt was to re-
conceptualize what was perceived as the Negro culture and unshackle it from the stereotypes
created by the Whites (Baker, 2013). The artists and participants who were associated with the
movement started embracing music, literature, visual arts, theatre and sought to present it while
in front of the world while preserving the heritage of black people and relationships shared
between one another (Wintz, 2013). Harlem Renaissance is also viewed as the movement which
sought to shatter the racist beliefs, bourgeois shame and Victorian morals, which were often
imposed on the African Americans.
The New Negro movement or the Harlem Renaissance paved way for the creation of a
new black identity which took place during between 1920s and 1930s (Baker, 2013). It is called
the Spiritual coming of age, by critic Alain Locke, after whose anthology, the movement was
named, The New Negro Movement. The movement sought to put an end to race price and White
supremacy across various aspects of the society which include literature and arts. The period
during which Harlem Renaissance took place is considered to be perfect as it just between World
War One and Great Depression which hit America (Wintz, 2013). There was plentiful of jobs