After the Civil War ended in 1865, African Americans had more freedom and opportunities for success, but the South was still an oppressive environment for blacks because white Americans were prejudiced and tried to limit equality and opportunities for former slaves and descendants of slaves. Because of this, millions of African Americans migrated to the Northern area of the United States, especially New York City, and this was called the “Great Migration”. Racism was still an issue, but it was easier to find jobs in the North because of World War 1, and the offered education was better. Harlem was an area of New York that was soon the heart of African American culture in the 1920s.
WEB Du Bois was a civil rights activist and the first black man to graduate from Harvard University. He was a co-founder of NAACP, lived in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance and wrote 21 books about equality, art and religion. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was originally formed to abolish lynching and stop race riots. Membership drew to 90,000 people by 1919 and was the leading advocacy group for African Americans at the time.
In 1924, Charles Johnson held a Civic Club party to promote a book a black woman wrote about her life as a middle-class African American, and it became a regular event to connect black artists and intellectuals with wealthy white people who were willing to sponsor them. A magazine called The New Negro was published about Harlem and featured black artists and writers who lived there. This influenced the culture in Harlem and allowed members of the community to become more informed about the great movement for their race. A popular speakeasy in the twenties in Harlem was called the Cotton Club, and only black artists performed there, which made it a desirable destination for successful white musicians like Bing Crosby and Cole Porter. Many of the most famous Jazz performers in Harlem got started by playing at the Cotton Club.
The Harlem Renaissance came to an end with the Great Depression, because many blacks got laid off and were forced out of Harlem for economic reasons and renewed racial tension. However, while it did last, the Harlem Renaissance was the first time in history African American culture was able to flourish and influence the culture of our society as a whole. Sources:
Biography.com
W.E.B. DuBois
