Gordon Lewis

The Harlem Renaissance

My initial reason for undertaking this course of study was to enhance my knowledge base for the English classes I teach, and I have been delightfully surprised by how much this class, 5731, has impacted on my knowledge base.  I make this observation based on the readings I have done in the literature for this Research Posting.  I chose this subject, the Harlem Renaissance, because it has been my observation that in the school in which I teach where the student body is composed of a majority of students from the dominant culture, immigrant students and students from minority groups appear to feel even more isolated than they would in a school that had a population that was more evenly distributed.  I felt that the inclusion, and recognition, of more minority and immigrant authors, literature, and information in English classes would assist all students to feel more included in the school because their cultural background was incorporated into the curriculum and I felt as though this research investigation would help me to identify authors to include in the courses I teach.

The Harlem Renaissance is such a focal point for the development of Black literature in this century that I felt my goals could be advanced by readings in this area.  As I was reviewing the readings, I was struck by the referral in several sources to the “Great Migration” of African Americans from the South to the North, Midwest and West, similar to the terminology in Objective 4 of this class.  But Alain Locke, a Harlem Renaissance writer goes further and states in “Harlem,” “The wash and rush of this human tide on the beach line of the northern city centers is to be explained primarily in terms of a new vision of opportunity, of social and economic freedom of a spirit to seize  . . . a chance for the improvement of conditions.  With each successive wave of it, the movement of the Negro migrant becomes more and more like that of the European waves at their crests, a mass movement toward the larger and the more democratic chance—in the Negro’s case a deliberate flight not only from countryside to city, but from medieval American to modern.”  This entire thought could be incorporated without change into the discussion of Objective 3 of this class, even including the metaphor of the “human tide on the beach,” ‘similarities between immigrants and minorities,’ and the comments about opportunity and economic freedom parallel Objective 2.

Locke continues in his essay to describe why the Harlem Renaissance was so significant.  “Here in Manhattan is not merely the largest Negro community in the world, but the first concentration in history of so many diverse elements of Negro life.  It has attracted the African, the West Indian, the Negro American; has brought together the Negro of the North and the Negro of the South; the man from the city and the man from the town and village; the peasant, the student, the business man, the professional man, artist, poet, musician, adventurer and worker, preacher and criminal, exploiter and social outcast.

. . . .  In Harlem, Negro life is seizing upon its first chance for group expression and self-determination.”  The role of Afro-Caribbeans, and other Black immigrants, was both a part of Objective 3 and part of class discussion.

From this intellectual center, many leaders and Black writers arose.  In addition, many writers were also influenced later by the happenings of the Harlem Renaissance.   W.E.B. DuBois, considered by many to be the most influential black leader in the first part of the century, was a leader in the Harlem Renaissance.  He was the first Black to receive a PhD from Harvard, was a co-founder of the NAACP in 1909, and founded, The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP (Wikipedia “DuBois”).  He remained as editor of the paper until 1934, and assisted by Jessie Redmon Fauset, literary editor from 1919 to 1926, “published the work of many young African American Writers including Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer (Wikipedia “The Crisis”).

DuBois taught at several universities, was a leading civil rights activist, was a prolific writer, publishing numerous books and articles, was a socialist, and became a communist at the age of 93. (Wikipedia)  DuBois also became an international leader.

A contemporary of Dubois, also a major influence in the leadership, was the Jamaican Marcus Garvey, who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the African Communities League.  Garvey advocated the development of Liberia as a separated country for Blacks and was both a writer and a poet and had a major influence in the development of Black culture in the first half of the century.

An influential writer of this period, Alain Locke, who is quoted above, was the first Black Rhodes Scholar.  Locke received his PhD from Harvard and taught for his entire career at Howard University.  Locke was both a poet and an essayist and among other publications, edited a special Harlem issue for Survey Graphic (March 1925) that highlighted the work of Harlem Renaissance writers.  Locke coined the term, “The New Negro,” that was used by DuBois and other leaders at the time and has been reused recently by the author John McWhorter.

Langston Hughes, poet, novelist, playwright, short story author, and columnist was first published by DuBois in The Crisis.  He became one of the most prolific and influential writers of this century.  Jennifer Hicks, in a review of James Baldwin quotes C.W.E. Bigsby, editor of The Black American Writer, who wrote, “. . . with the Harlem Renaissance, the Black writer has come to appreciate the relevance of his own experience to a nation searching for its own sense of identity and purpose.”  This quote certainly applies to the work of Hughes whose body of work reflects both his personal experiences and documents the history of the Black man in this society. 

In a search of the Gale Databases on Infortrac there were 385 authors retrieved from a search with the keywords Harlem Renaissance.  Many of these were renaissance writers, but others were authors like Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin who were included because their work was influenced by the writers of the Harlem Renaissance.  Again it was interesting to me that one of the subject headings that came up in the search was the African American Diaspora, another term from 5731.

This research effort significantly enhanced my knowledge base of the Harlem Renaissance period and provided a pathway for further reading and numerous ideas of readings and authors that I could include in the classes I teach.  Although I had some knowledge of Langston Hughes, and a minimal knowledge of DuBois and Garvey, my knowledge base was enlarged.  I was not aware of the depth and breath of their writings.  In addition, I have become acquainted with additional authors of the period.  As I have already indicated, I was pleased that my research was facilitated by what I have learned in this class.

Works Cited

“Alain LeRoy Locke.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 June 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Locke>

“The Crisis.”  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 June 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crisis>

Deutsch, Leonard J.  “Ralph Waldo Ellison.” Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol 2: American Novelists Since World War II, First Series.  Ed. Jeffrey Helterman and Richard Layman.  Detroit:  Gale Group, 1978.  136-141. Literature Resource Center. Gale Group  6 June 28, 2006 <http://galenet.galegroup.com>

“Harlem Renaissance.”  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 June 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Harlem_Renaissance>

Hicks, Jennifer.  “An overview of “Sonny’s Blues.” In Short Stories for Students.  Detroit:  Gale Research, 1997.  Literature Resource Center. Gale Group. 6 June 28, 2006 <http://galenet.galegroup.com>

“Langston Hughes.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 June 2006
<http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes>

Locke, Alain.  “Enter the New Negro.”  The Survey Graphic Harlem Number VI.6 (March 1925).  Rpt in University of Virginia Library’s Electronic Text Center. 3 Nov 1996. 28 Jun 28, 2006 <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/harlem/LocEnteT.html>

Locke, Alain.  “Harlem.”  The Survey Graphic Harlem Number VI.6 (March 1925). Rpt in University of Virginia Library’s Electronic Text Center. 3 Nov 1996. 28 Jun 28, 2006 <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/harlem/LocEnteT.html>

“Marcus Garvey.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 June 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Garvey>

Reuben, Paul P.  “Chapter 9: Harlem Renaissance – An Introduction.”  PAL: Perspectives in American Literature – A Research and Reference Guide. 30 June 2005.  28 June 28, 2006 <http://www.csustan.edu.english/reuben/pal/chap9/9intro.html

“W.E.B. DuBois.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 June 2006
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.E.B._DuBois>

Williams, Scott.  “The Harlem Renaissance.”  The Circle Association.  9 Dec 2001. 28 June 28, 2006 <http://www.math.buffalo.edu?~sww/circle/harlem-ren-sites.html>