Transcript File
The Harlem Renaissance Write about this painting from the Harlem Renaissance, what does it make you think about? What images or colors stand out for you? Why? How does the artist use symbolism to describe the Renaissance? During The Harlem Renaissance (1919-mid 1930’s) a group of talented African-American writers produced a sizable body of literature in these four areas: drama poetry fiction and essays The Harlem Renaissance also involved art . . . and music; however, we will be focusing on the literature of that period. Yankees Buy Pennant Here!! Mets Lose Here!! Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City, was the center of the African American political, cultural, and artistic movement in the 1920s and early 1930s. Can you see any evidence from this map that this is an African American community? 1920 1911 1930 Harlem in the early 1930s Based on these pictures, describe what life was like in Harlem in the early 1930s. Causes What events and movements do you think may have helped lead to the Renaissance? Great Migration: the movement of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from rural areas in the South to urban areas in both he North and South. Every family has that one member that they don’t want to admit to! Don’t let it be you!!! What push factors led to the migration? What pull factors led to the migration? Causes Growing African American Middle Class: developed as a result of improved educational and employment opportunities for African Americans. The Harlem section of New York became the center of this new African American class. Causes Political Agenda For Civil Rights by African Americans: leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey and the NAACP helped to inspire racial pride in the middle and working class. Du Bois, author of The Souls of Black Folks, was instrumental in the foundation of the NAACP. Marcus Garvey pushed for the Back to Africa movement The NAACP published The Crisis, a journal used to share the literary works of African Americans. Du Bois believed that artistic and literary work could be used as a form of propaganda to help combat racial stereotypes and gain new respect for the race. What message does this song, written by an African American, send to the general public? Poetry as Propaganda • Read the poem “Incident” by Countee Cullen – Underline interesting words/phrases – What does this poem tell us about our country during this time? – How could this poem be used as propaganda? Poetry as Propaganda • Read “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Hughes. • Circle interesting words/phrases – What does he compare his soul to? – How does he describe the river? Underline the adjectives used to describe the river. – What do these adjectives make you think about? Or what do they have in common? – What do you think the speaker means when he says “my soul is deep like the river”? – What does the metaphor of the river mean? – How could this be used as propaganda? Red Summer of 1919 In response to the gains by African Americans, many whites fought back during the summer of 1919. There were 25 major race riots and at least 83 African Americans were lynched. The Ku Klux Klan held over 200 meeting to increase enrollment. What are the psychological effects of lynching and cross burning on aspiring African Americans? African American Poet, Claude McKay memorialized the bloody summer of 1919 with the poem, “If We Must Die,” which was published in the magazine Liberator. If We Must Die If we must die--let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die--oh, let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe; Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! Read the poem, circle any words that stick out for you. Underline the imagery in the poem What is his message? Do you agree or disagree with the author? Why? Poetry as Propaganda • Which poem did you enjoy the most? Why? Impact The Harlem section of New York City was transformed from a deteriorating area into a thriving middle class community. Before After Differences in Artistic Vision Dubois & Locke Hughes & Hurston • “Thus all art is propaganda •“We younger Negro artists and ever must be despite the who create now intend to wailing of the purists.” express our individual darkskinned selves without fear or • “The great social gain in this is shame. If white people are the releasing of our talented pleased we are glad. If they group from the arid fields of are not, it doesn’t matter. We controversy and debate to the know we are beautiful. And productive fields of creative ugly too.” expression.” What do you believe was more important: fighting racial prejudice and stereotyping, or true personal expression? • Poetry as Creative Expression: Jazz Poetry Poets like Langston Hughes incorporated the rhythms and repetitive phrases of blues and jazz music into their writing. • Since jazz music was an important part of African-American culture at the time, Hughes and others like him adapted the musical genre to create their own, singularly African-American voices that could easily be distinguished from the work of white poets. Is this just creative expression? Used as a form of propaganda too? Discuss • Many of Hughes' poems, such as "The Weary Blues," sound almost exactly like popular jazz and blues songs of the period. • Read the poem “The Weary Blues” • Underline words that you could associate with jazz rhythms • Circle the onomatopoeia in the poem • What is the effect of the onomatopoeia on you as a reader? On the poem as a whole? • What is the overall mood of this poem? • New ideas about the poem after listening to it with jazz? “Miss Cynthie” by Rudolph Fisher • Preview the questions • Read/annotate the short story • While you are reading I am going to come around and check your project proposals, please have them out! • Answer the questions • Ask Ms.Lago if you have any questions • Put the answers to your questions, which you have done on SEPARATE sheet of paper, in the box when complete How It Feels to Be Colored Me Zora Neale Hurston wrote this essay in 1928. Read and annotate the essay. • We will be looking at the various rhetorical strategies she uses in her essay and how this essay. • Main Ideas to think about while reading: • Is this essay a form of propaganda? • What do you think the purpose of this essay may be? • Who is her intended audience?