The Harlem Renaissance Case

Villalba, Luciana

English III, 2

05/05/09

The Harlem Renaissance During the decade of the 1920s, America was not only being a productive and prosperous

nation, it was a decade of achievement in various ways. One of these achievements was for the

African-American people what they called the “Harlem Renaissance”. The Harlem Renaissance

was a period in which African-Americans were being successful in such areas as literature, music

and in the arts. Some important aspects of the renaissance are the themes of the dreams and hopes

of African Americans, the influence of jazz music and the notable poetry of Langston Hughes

which reflect African American culture during this time period.

First of all, why is it called this period a renaissance? Well, “historians have liked to use

that word to characterize some moment when a culture once dormant, has been reawakened”.

(Huggins 3). This was a time in which World War I was over and a vast majority of African

Americans came back to the country with a feeling of patriotism and since they fought overseas,

they wanted some sort of freedom in their own land. “Harlem was the nerve center of Afro

American life and the capital of the international black man, its intellectuals who wanted to affect

political change had raised their voices to speak to broad, general and principled issues”.

(Huggins