20th Century the Harlem Renaissance Was an Poem

20th Century

The Harlem Renaissance was an important aspect of American history and to African-American history specifically. The Harlem Renaissance took place during the first few decades of the 20th century, particularly after the first world war. Though it is named after Harlem, an area of New York City, Manhattan island, the spirit of this artistic, literary and cultural expansion spread across the United States and Europe. Some of the most prominent members of the Harlem Renaissance traveled and flourished in Europe, then returned to the states to rejuvenate and invigorate the African-American community and in turn American culture. Major participants were novelists, musicians, poets, dancers, singers, and political leaders. Some of the noted participants of the Harlem Renaissance include W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Dorothy West, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and many more.

The benefactors began as the African-American community. The country was still in transition from Reconstruction and World War I. African-Americans have the longest and most horrific history within American history. This group suffered along with all the other groups that compose the American people during WWI. In the history of America, often experience and contributions during wartime help facilitate social change and steps toward equal rights after the war is over, as is the case with blacks, women, and homosexuals.African-Americans had gained some respect and social mobility because of their contributions in the great war and the Harlem Renaissance was an expression of that joy and freedom that came from time having passed since Reconstruction and WWI's conclusion. While the benefactors began as black men and black women, the benefactors grew to be the American people and the world as many of the artifacts of the Harlem Renaissance grew to be fundamental and cherished aspects of American culture which spread around the world.

The poem "Let America be American Again" by Langston Hughes is a poetic and social commentary of the presence of blacks in America. The poem is an eloquent commentary on the discrepancy between the mythology of the American experience and the reality of the American experience, especially from a perspective outside of the white, wealthy, male majority/power structure. Hughes does reference the experience of the poor, ethnic minorities of all kinds, and references a simpler, more wholesome time in America when there was more hope and real potential for equity.

If….....