The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement between 1925 and 1935. Harlem was primarily a Jewish neighborhood until 1910 when large numbers of African Americans began migrating to the South. It was a literary, musical, and intellectual explosion that fostered a new black cultural identity that, by the 1920s, was the largest most influential African American community in the country. Because racism was still rampant and economic opportunities were scarce, creative expression was one of the few avenues available to African Americans in the early twentieth century.
INFO by Noah Wilson
Although the African American movement began in Harlem it manifested itself beyond New York. Harlem became a symbolic capital and acted as a catalyst for artistic experimentation. The United States aided “New Negroes” by providing visibility and opportunities for publication that were not available elsewhere. Black intellectuals from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Los Angeles were attracted to Harlem because of its diversity. Because of New York City’s diversity, no one group could monopolize authority, therefore it was an exceptionally fertile place for cultural expansion.
