Transcript FACES OF HARLEM1

FACES OF HARLEM
The Harlem Renaissance
Dr. Jarmon
WHAT IS THE HARLEM
RENAISSANCE?
The Harlem Renaissance got its name because it reminded observers of the
European Renaissance (i.e. "re-birth") that began in the 14th and 15th centuries
and permanently Changed European culture and society. Beginning in the cities of
Italy and spreading over the next two centuries to all of Europe, this first
Renaissance represented the end of the looked to classical Greek and Roman
civilization for insight and inspiration - was an upsurge of culture, learning,
entertainment and rediscovery of roots that showed itself in art, writing, literature,
politics, technology and many other areas.
In addition, people moved to the cities and started to look at themselves in a new
way and many became literate. For African Americans, the Harlem Renaissance
of the New Negro Period was a similar period of progressive change (in how people
saw themselves, where they lived, cultural expression, literature and literacy, politics
and many other ways). There were some differences however. The Harlem
Renaissance looked to Africa and Black American culture for inspiration and was
confined to mostly (but not totally) one country and one race. Nevertheless, both
Renaissances represented a period of enlightenment after a period of destruction,
rediscovery of culture and a glorious past, new thinking, and the creation of new
expressions.
NOVELISTS and WRITERS
JEAN TOOMER
JESSIE R. FAUSET
GEORGE SCHULYER
CLAUDE McKAY
NELLA LARSEN
ZORA HURSTON
LITERATURE
Literature is one of the areas in which
the Harlem Renaissance is best known
And had its widest impact on many
people living outside Harlem. The writers
of ideas and an identity that has left a
lasting influence on both Black and
White America.
There were many key writers of the
Harlem Renaissance. Some of the major
names include:
 Countee Cullen the poet,
 Langston Hughes the novelist and
poet,
 James Weldon Johnson, a poet and
novelist
 Claude McKay a novelist
 W.E.B. DuBois, a political activist,
Novelist
There were many others (often
novelists or poets) whose works
reflected the New Negro images and
thoughts. In addition to novels and
books written by single authors there
were also collaborative efforts.
One very important one was the
short-lived magazine "Fire!!" which
featured the work of several writers
and artists. Most of the copies were
burned up in a real warehouse fire
and the few surviving copies are rare
and expensive treasures today.
RUDOLF FISHER
LANGSTON HUGHES
WALLACE THURMAN
C ARL VAN VECHTEN
ERIC WALROND
WALTER WHITE
HARLEM’S NEW ACTORS
The first stage of the Harlem Renaissance
started in the late 1910s. 1917 saw the
Premiere of Three Plays for a Negro
Theatre. Many plays that were written often
rejected the stereotypes of the blackface
and minstrel show traditions. Blackface is
a form of theatrical makeup used in
minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in
Which performers create a stereotyped
caricature of a black person.
In 1848, blackface minstrel shows were the
National art of the time, translating formal
art such as opera into popular terms for a
general audience. Early in the 20th century,
blackface branched off from the minstrel
Show and became a form in its own right,
until it ended in the United States with the
U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Lincoln Theatre, one of the first theaters in New
York to allow African Americans to pass through
its doors, was an integral part of Harlem's cultural
scene. In 1915, the Lincoln became the original
home of an all-black theatrical troupe.
The Lincoln went on to thrive in the 1920s and
1930s, showcasing many of Harlem's hottest jazz
and vaudeville performers, including Ethel
Waters and Florence Mills. The Lafayette
Theatre, a 1,000-seat venue also featured silent
movie screenings with musical accompaniment
by pianist Fats Waller. The Lafayette Theatre
played two starring roles in the Harlem
Renaissance: the first New York City playhouses
to welcome Integrated audiences, but its stage
was among the first to showcase sophisticated
performances by African-American actors. It cast
Black actors in serious dramatic roles, many of
them written for white actors by white authors..
Serious black actors such as Paul Robeson rose
above the stereotyped or comedic roles to which
they had once been classified.
ACTORS/PRODUCERS
Angelina W. Grimke
Richard B. Nugent
Charles Gilpin
Paul Robeson
Ethel Waters
ARTISTS
Augusta Savage
Charles Alston
Palmer Hayden
Jacob Lawrence
Romare Bearden
Sargent Johnson
Lois M. Jones
ARTWORK OF THE
RENAISSANCE
Aaron Douglas
Palmer Hayden
Richard Barthe
Augusta Savage
POETS
Arna Bontemps
Helene Johnson
Lewis Alexander
Gwendolyn Bennett
Georgia Douglas Johnson
James Weldon Johnson
May Miller
A SPIRITUAL ANTHEM FOR
ALL PEOPLE
Johnson first wrote “Lift Every Voice and
Sing” as a poem in 1900. Hundreds of
African-American students performed it at a
celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at
Jacksonville, Florida’s Stanton School, where
Johnson was principal. Johnson’s brother,
John Rosamond Johnson, later set the poem
to music. By 1920, the NAACP had
proclaimed the song the “Negro National
Anthem.”
Askew, an associate professor of English at
Clark Atlanta University, a historically black
college, found letters of appreciation to
Johnson from individuals of all different ethnic
backgrounds. At that moment, Askew had a
revelation: The song he’d known as the “black
national anthem” was for everybody.
MUSICIANS
Duke Ellington
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Louis Armstrong
Count Basie
Lean Horne
A Spectacular Venue
The most famous club for African-American
performers and popular music in the U.S. was the
Apollo Theater, a continuing legacy of the Harlem
Renaissance. From the beginning, the Apollo
offered amateur nights each evening, where
many famous artists, such as Billie Holiday, Ella
Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and James Brown,
started their show business careers. Although its
popularity declined in the 1960s and 70s, the
Apollo experienced a revival when it obtained
landmark status in 1983. Today the theater is run
by a non-profit organization and draws an
estimated 1.3 million visitors each year. It
continues to promote new artists through its
nationally syndicated variety show, Showtime at
the Apollo.
In 1933 Fiorello La Guardia, who would later
become New York City’s Mayor, began a
campaign against burlesque.
Hurtig & Seamon’s Apollo was one of many
theaters that would close down. Cohen
reopened the building as the 125th Street
Apollo Theatre in 1934 with his partner, Morris
Sussman serving as manager. Cohen and
Sussman changed the format of the shows from
burlesque to variety revues and redirected their
In 1983, the Apollo received state and city
landmark status and in 1991, Apollo Theater
Foundation, Inc., was established as a private,
not-for-profit organization to manage, fund and
oversee programming for the Apollo Theater.
Today, the Apollo, which functions under the
guidance of a Board of Directors, presents
concerts, performing arts, education and
community outreach programs.
Cab Calloway
Eva Jessye
Marian Anderson
Ethel Waters
Nora D. Ray
Bill Robinson