Transcript The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance

The Great Migration
and the Harlem
Renaissance
I. The Great Migration
A. Between 1910 and 1920,
hundreds of thousands of
African-Americans
uprooted themselves from
their homes in the South to
move into the big cities of
the North in search of jobs.
1.
By 1920, 5.2 out of 12
million of African Americans
lived in cities
2. Job opportunities were
available during World War
I with many men overseas.
3. Northerners would not
welcome this which caused
25 race riots in the summer
of 1919.
B. The NAACP (National Association
for the Advancement of Colored
People) was founded on February
12, 1909, by a diverse group
composed of W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida
B. Wells, Archibald Grimké, Henry
Moskowitz, Mary White Ovington,
Oswald Garrison Villard, William
English Walling
1.
2.
3.
4.
W.E.B. Dubois would urge African
Americans to protest racial violence
Led a parade of 10k African
American men in NY
NAACP’s The Crisis publication
was used to get their message out.
James Weldon Johnson led the
NAACP in influencing Congress
into passing anti-lynching
legislation (None were passed but
the amount of lynching dropped)
C. Marcus Garvey and the UNIA
1.
Immigrant from Jamaica that
believed the African Americans
should have a separate society
2. Formed the United Negro
Improvement Association
(UNIA) to help promote black
pride, economic independence,
and a reverence of Africa in the
urban ghettos of NYC.
3. Called on African Americans to
return to Africa and overthrow
the white oppressors
4. Garvey’s movement would
dwindle in the mid-1920s when
he was arrested for mail fraud
(Black Star Line), but his
message of Black Nationalism
would endure
II. Harlem Renaissance
A. Many African Americans
would migrate to Harlem,
a neighborhood on the
Upper West Side of NY’s
Manhattan Island.
B. Harlem would become
the world’s largest black
urban community
1. Capital of “Black America”
2. Like most urban areas,
Harlem suffered from
overcrowding,
unemployment, and
poverty
C. Problems in Harlem were
eclipsed by the flowing of
creativity in the community
that became known as the
Harlem Renaissance
1.
Literary and artistic movement
celebrating African American
culture.
D. The literary movement was
led by well educated, middle
class African Americans who
expressed pride in the
African American experience.
E. Mentors of these young
talents included NAACP
leaders like W.E.B. Dubois
and James Weldon Johnson
F. Important African American
Literary Figures
1.
2.
3.
4.
Claude McKay-work reflected
resisting
prejudice/discrimination and
the pain of life in the black
ghettos
Jean Toomer- “Cane” book of
sketches and poetry that
reflected African Americans in
the North and South
Langston Hughes- best known
poet of the HR; wrote about the
difficulties of the African
American working class.
Zora Neale Hurston- wrote
about the lives of poor
unschooled Southern African
Americans.
G. Significant African American
Performers. Many believe what
kick started the Harlem
Renaissance was started through a
black musical comedy known as
Shuffle Along. Famous hit, Love
will find a way
1.
2.
3.
4.
Florence Mills - the "Queen of
Happiness" was an AfricanAmerican cabaret singer, dancer,
and comedian
Josephine Backer –First Black
women to star in a major motion
picture (Zouzou), and become a
worldwide star (Parents were
French), helped the French
resistance in WWII and received
the Croix de guerre
Mabel Mercer-English born
Cabaret singer
Paul Robeson-Major dramatic actor
and received worldwide acclaim for
his role in Shakespeare's Othello
H. Jazz was born in the
early 1900s in New
Orleans but would
flourish in Harlem in the
1920s to become a
mainstream form of
music.
I. Jazz is known for its
personal expression and
improvisation
J. It would become the
most popular music for
dancing
K. Significant singers and musicians
1.
2.
Louis Armstrong -known for
popularizing jazz and his distinct
voice, Armstrong would be main
attraction for American Jazz
“Duke” Ellington -jazz pianist and
composer at the Cotton Club in
Harlem
a.
b.
3.
4.
Still renowned as one of
America’s great composers
Mood Indigo
Cab Calloway and “scat” (jazz
improvised with sounds instead of
words)
Bessie Smith -most outstanding
vocalist of the decade
a.
Highest paid African American in
the world in 1927.