Introduction to

1. Introduction to • THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

2. RECONSTRUCTION • After the Civil war, attempts were made to redress the injustices of slavery, including Reconstruction laws and constitutional amendments. • Reconstruction efforts waned in the late 1870's. • Life in the South was still extremely difficult for African Americans: • Jim Crow laws: segregated public facilities, transportation, and schools • Ku Klux Klan: culture of violence most graphically displayed by public lynchings • Sharecropping system: tenant farming forces on African Americans a difficult existence that is nearly as bad as slavery

3. THE GREAT MIGRATION • Between 1910 and 1970, 6.5 million African Americans migrated out of the South • Most of this movement took place between the two world wars • Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia were primary destinations; the West later became a destination as well • The North was viewed as the promised land because of better civil and economic opportunities • Continued industrialization and slowing immigration rates led to a demand for factory workers, who received significantly higher pay than those in the South

4. Despite opportunities present in the North, African Americans still encountered prejudice and racism • Commonly called "de facto segregation," as opposed to "de jure segregation" • Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896): separate but equal • Life in the North presented its own challenges: • Poor living conditions • Dangerous work • environments

5. Blues Music • Evolution of blues music tied to The Great Migration • As blues musicians moved north, the blues adapted to the more sophisticated urban environments. • Lyrics took up urban themes • New instruments provide rhythmic and emotional intensity • Chicago played greatest role in development of urban blues Big Bill Broonzy (Migrated from Mississippito Chicago)

6. When I got back from overseas, that night we had a ball Next day I met the old boss, he said "Boy get you some overalls" I wonder when I wonder when I wonder when will I get to be called a man Do I have to wait till I get ninety-three? I've worked on the levee camps, and axer gangs too Black man's a boy, don't care what he can do I wonder when I wonder when I wonder when will I get to be called a man Do I have to wait till I get ninety-three? They said I was uneducated, my clothes were dirty and torn Now I've got a little education, but I'm still a boy right on I wonder when I wonder when I wonder when will I get to be called a man "When Will I Get to Be Called a Man" When I was born into this world, this is what happened to me I was never called a man, and now I'm fifty-three I wonder when I wonder when I wonder when will I get to be called a man Do I have to wait till I get ninety-three? When Uncle Sam called me, I knowed I'd be called a real McCoy But I got none of this, they just called me soldier boy I wonder when I wonder when I wonder when will I get to be called a man Do I have to wait till I get ninety-three?

7. Blues music and poetry became closely tied: • Blues poem- stems from African American oral tradition and musical tradition of the blues • Themes of struggle and despair, but also resilience and determination in the face of hardship Sterling A. Brown James Weldon Johnson Langston Hughes

8. Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway . . . He did a lazy sway . . . To the tune o' those Weary Blues. With his ebony hands on each ivory key He made that poor piano moan with melody. O Blues! Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool. Sweet Blues! Coming from a black man's soul. O Blues! In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan— "Ain't got nobody in all this world, Ain't got nobody but ma self. I's gwine to quit ma frownin' And put ma troubles on the shelf." "The Weary Blues" Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor. He played a few chords then he sang some more— "I got the Weary Blues And I can't be satisfied. Got the Weary Blues And can't be satisfied— I ain't happy no mo' And I wish that I had died." And far into the night he crooned that tune. The stars went out and so did the moon. The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that's dead. • By Langston Hughes

9. THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE • Time of intense creativity • Celebration of African American heritage • Centered in Harlem, a predominantly black neighborhood in NYC • Writers used their work to capture the African American experience and express pride in their culture • Usually remembered for literature, but music and visual arts also connected 1919-1929

10. I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America. "I, Too" By Langston Hughes

11. Langston Hughes • Born in Mississippi but moved a lot as a child • Published "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" shortly after his high school graduation • Attended Columbia University and Lincoln University • Attached to Harlem, which he called "the great dark city" • Major Players in the Harlem Renaissance Claude McKay • Jamaican-born poet who moved to the U.S. in 1912 and was shocked by American racism • Known as the first and most militant voice of the Harlem Renaissance • Lived in the Soviet Union, France, Spain, and Morocco, but returned the U.S.and became a citizen

12. Countee Cullen • Unofficial lay adopted by the minister of one of a Harlem's biggest congregations • Attended NYU and Harvard; Published in several major American literary magazines • Preferred classical verse forms rather than rely on rhythms and idioms of black American heritage • Married the daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois • Major Players in the Harlem Renaissance Zora Neale Hurston • Joined a traveling theatrical company that landed her in NYC during the Harlem Renaissance • Attended Howard College, Barnard College, and Columbia • Writing celebrates African American culture of the rural South

13. Louie Armstrong • Born to a poor family in New Orleans; music opportunities landed him in Chicago and then NYC • One of the most appreciated jazz artists of all time; helped foster the acceptance of jazz music and African American music • Major Players in the Harlem Renaissance Duke Ellington • Born into middle-class family in DC and became engrossed in fine arts at an early age • Moved to NYC and began playing Broadway nightclubs • Originator of big-band jazz

14. Harlem Renaissance Project • Choose a poem or song from the Harlem Renaissance • Prepare a 10-15 minute lesson in order to help the class better understand the poem • Use the Guidelines for Analyzing Poetry (MyHomework) • You may work in groups of 2-3 students • This project will be worth 2 quiz grades