The Harlem Renaissance

1. The Harlem Renaissance Abel and Molly

2. Overt Racial Pride, idea of the “New Negro” Variation: Modernism to jazz poetry, High-culture/low-culture Common Themes: Slavery and it’s influence on the black American experience Effects of racism How to portray black life to white American audiences Key Aspects of the Movement

3. Claude McKay (1889-1948) • Jamaican-born • Enrolled at Tuskegee, then Kansas State • Went to Harlem • Left-wing, influenced Richard Wright • Developed candid style that focused on depiction of authentic blackness

4. Gwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981) • Grew up on Native American Reservation in Nevada • Poet, Writer, graphic artist • Wrote for The Opportunity • Used column to spread news and highlight other writers • Contributed sense of racial pride

5. Countee Cullen (1903-1946) • Very little known about biographical information • Wrote in classical style • “If the aim of the Harlem Renaissance was in part the reinvention of the native born Negro as a being who can be assimilated while decidedly retaining something called a racial self consciousness, Cullen fit the bill” • Wrote predominately “Raceless poetry”