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Aaron Douglas - Artist

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Who was she?

Born in Alabama 1891 and moved to Harlem during the Great Migration

An activist who wrote stories and books that expressed African American culture during the 1900s

Although Hurston worked all of her life at many jobs and was an extremely productive writer, money was always a serious problem. In the late 1940s she returned to Florida and worked as a maid in Riva Alto. After several efforts to restart her writing career, she died in poverty in Fort Pierce, Florida, on January 28, 1960.

What/How did she contribute to the Harlem Renaissance?

After Hurston moved to New York in 1925, she became one of the most prominent writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Before attending Barnard College, one of her short stories Spunk was selected for “The New Negro”, an anthology of fiction poetry and essays that focused on African American art and literature.

She was most famous for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, follows the life of a black teenage girl growing up in the early 20th century. The novel is praised as an amazing works in Women’s and African-American literature.

Over a career that spanned more than 30 years, she published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography, numerous short stories, and several essays, articles and plays.

Why was she important?

Zora's writing expressed the resilience of African American culture and she led through her activism in writing.

Hurston is looked upon as one of the most influential African American writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Who was he?

He was an American writer, philosopher, educator, and a patron of the arts.  Also considered the “Dean” of the Harlem Renaissance.  First African American Rhodes scholar. From Philadelphia and graduated 2nd in his class from high school.  Graduated from Harvard with degrees in English and philosophy.  Taught about race relations to his students, which was controversial.

How did he contribute to the Harlem Renaissance?

He encouraged African American artists to celebrate African and African American cultures in their work.

Why was he important?

He was a very influential African American scholar and was recognized for advocating for African American art and culture and teaching against racism through the origins of racial bias.

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Who was he?

He was an African American painter. Moved to Harlem in 1925. Modern artist. In 1940, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he founded the Art Department at Fisk University and taught for 27 years

What/How did he contribute to the Harlem Renaissance ?

Considered "Father of African American arts." Produced illustrations for The Crisis and The Opportunity, two most important magazines of the Harlem Renaissance.

Why was he important?

His art showed the roots of African Americans, showing the culture and the struggles they endured. He was focused on preserving their rich history and past.

This painting shows aspects of negro life from slavery through reconstruction. This painting was part of a series of murals.

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Who was he?

Langston Hughes was an african american author and poet in the mid 1900's. Langston Hughes was born in Missouri in 1902 and after college moved to New York City. He is known for writing poetry about African American life in the United States of America. Hughes claimed he was primarily inspired by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman.

What/How did he contribute to the Harlem Renaissance ?

He created a new form of art called "Jazz poetry" and his artistic works were enormously, influential during the Harlem Renaissance. His poems highlighted injustice in America between whites and blacks. His portrayed black life in America from the twenties through the sixties in intimate ways that reflected the common cultural experience and his own personal one including their suffering and their love for jazz.

Why was he important?

He is known for his portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. Some of his work addressed the racial issues that were prevalent in the country. His work in the Chicago Defender, a weekly based newspaper in Chicago, depicted a comic character who was a black Everyman in which to focus on black issues. James Mercer. Hughes used simple language and ideas that were familiar to anyone with the ability simply to read. Today, his house is a landmark, showing his importance in New York City's history but also his influence on American as a whole.

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

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Directions: Using the facts that you gathered for homework, answer the following questions. Include one image/piece of expression from the historical figure.

Who was he?

Jamaican-American author, journalist, poet who was lived during Harlem Renaissance. Was heavily influenced by communism at certain points in his life.

What/How did he contribute to the Harlem Renaissance ?

Worked for Universal Negro Improvement Association and wrote poems about his experience as a black man in New York City. His writing was often influenced by experiences of racism/racial prejudice, and inequality.

Why was he important?

Was shocked by the racism that he encountered when he moved to New York, and as a result he brought to light many racial issues in the 1920s.

If We Must Die

Claude McKay

If we must die—let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
Oh, Kinsmen!  We must meet the common foe;
Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

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Directions: Using the facts that you gathered for homework, answer the following questions. Include one image/piece of expression from the historical figure.

Who was he?

African-American jazz singer and trumpeter, born in New Orleans August 4, 1901.

What/How did he contribute to the Harlem Renaissance ?

He was one of the most influential figures in jazz.  He recorded 60 of the most influential jazz records in history.

Why was he important?

By establishing his performances and recordings in the 1920’s served as a basis for improvisation and virtuosic solo playing; he was able to set the standard.

Also, he had a huge white audience and when he heard about the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis, he spoke out for the first time publicly on civil rights, "The way they are treating my people in the south, the government can goto hell"

Song Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

What A Wonderful World