Black American History Arts & Culture | Compilation

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Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of artistic production and expression by African Americans that took place shortly after World War I and lasted into the mid-1930s.
It was centered in Harlem, New York City, but also flourished in other cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
Key figures in the visual arts included Richmond Barthé, James VanDerZee, Aaron Douglas, and Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller.
Langston Hughes was one of the most famous poets of the Harlem Renaissance, known for his authentic portrayal of the black experience.
Other notable writers included James Weldon Johnson, Arturo Schomburg, Walter White, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen.
Gwendolyn Bennett and Zora Neale Hurston were important female writers who contributed to the literary arts.
Blues and jazz revolutionized the American music landscape, with influential figures like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, and Billie Holiday.
The Harlem Renaissance had a profound impact on American culture and continues to shape the landscape of arts and letters today.

The Harlem Renaissance conveyed larger political messages and addressed social issues.
Black theorists and political thinkers debated effective ways to help black communities.
A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen defined the "new negro" as uncompromising in political equality and universal suffrage.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Urban League engaged in grassroots activism to combat discrimination and segregation.
Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in 1926, which later became Black History Month.
Marcus Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) advocated for pan-Africanism and black nationalism.
Garvey's separatist views led to strange alliances, such as with the racist Ku Klux Klan.
The UNIA also focused on racial uplift and reform in the US, addressing issues like voter registration, healthcare, and education.
The Black Starline Steamship Company was created to transport people to Africa and foster a self-reliant global black economy.
Despite his emphasis on Africa, Garvey held some negative views about African people.
Marcus Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and deported to Jamaica in 1927, effectively ending the UNIA.
Despite controversy, Garvey's legacy impacted the Black Power Movement and coined the phrase "black is beautiful."

Zora Neale Hurston was a brilliant writer and anthropologist who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance.
Hurston's work centered the perspectives of black women and combined research and folklore.
Hurston struggled to maintain a mainstream audience and faced personal challenges, including poverty and multiple strokes.
Alice Walker's essay "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston" revived Hurston's work and brought her out of obscurity.
Hurston's work went beyond the Harlem Renaissance, exploring the struggles of black Americans throughout the US, especially in the South.
Hurston's unique approach incorporated research methods into fiction, creating realistic and nuanced stories based on real conversations.
Hurston's work expanded beyond the black experience, tapping into universal truths and documenting stories that might have been forgotten.

Hip-hop and rap emerged in the 1970s in the Bronx, New York City, as a form of entertainment at block parties and social gatherings.
Hip-hop culture encompasses four main pillars: DJing, rapping, graffiti, and breakdancing.
Groups like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and A Tribe Called Quest contributed to the genre's development.
Hip-hop competitions sometimes led to rivalries, such as the East Coast versus West Coast rivalry between Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur.
As hip-hop gained mainstream popularity in the 1990s, it faced criticism for its explicit lyrics and portrayal of "ghetto life," leading to debates about its impact on Black communities.
Black women MCs, such as MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Queen Latifah, Da Brat, and Eve, emerged and challenged male-dominated narratives by promoting Black feminist messaging and addressing issues of sexism, racism, and class politics.
Black rappers in the 1990s focused on radical politics and community engagement, while others revolutionized the portrayal of black women by taking control of their hypersexualized representation in popular media.
Artists like Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown projected dominance, control, and lyrical prowess, flipping the script on black women's passive objectification.
Missy Elliot offered a complex and queer representation of