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“‘The women poets of the Harlem Renaissance  faced one of the classic American double-binds: they were Black, and they were female, during an epoch when the building of an artistic career for anyone of either of those identities was a consider challenge” ( Walton 4).

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It is blessed heritage
To wear pain,
A bright smile on our lips.
Our dark fathers gave us
The gift of shedding sorrow
In a song.

(Grimes 15)

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Armistice Day was what sparked the Harlem Renaissance and led to the women’s right movement.

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Politico: What the 19th Amendment Meant for Black Women

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The Harlem Renaissance started in 1920 along with the passing of the 19th amendment. While the fight for black equality happened, the women during the Harlem Renaissance spoke out in their own way. They wrote poems, made art, were musicians and authors, and some taught in schools. Through their works they talked about equality and the social norms of women in society.

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Woman POV: Armistice Day November 11, 1918 

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Woman POV: Armistice Day November 11, 1918 

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The War is over! Germany has signed the peace treaty. It is time to celebrate. To celebrate in the streets, you must cover up every inch of your body and pin your long hair up as short hair is unethical. The only makeup you will be able to wear is your smile! If a random man were to embrace you in some way, you would tell yourself it is because of this wonderful day! You would see the streets packed with people and automobiles trying to get by. Eventually as you’re marching along, you see men hanging a dummy version of the leader of Germany and shooting shots at it. People from all walks of life were gleaming with joy.

If you were a woman during this time, would you have sensed any change?

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Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist, and an anthropologist who studied and wrote about the lives of black Americans, both in fiction and factual mediums. She wrote in the actual vernacular of black people about their everyday lives. Hurston told the truth through the voices of her fictional characters like Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

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Modern music was very jazzy and off-beat. It called women to do unknown dance moves like flailing their arms and legs. Disbelievers to this lively music style said modern music was dishonorable and caused mental illnesses.

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“She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breathe to the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her” (Hurston 11).

“She searched as much of the world as she could from the top of the steps and then went on down to the front gate and leaned forward to gaze up and down the road. Looking, waiting, breathing short with impatience. Waiting for the world to be made” (Hurston 11).

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Flappers were progressive women who flaunted sexist laws in the 1920s by wearing and applying makeup in public, smoking and having a wardrobe of revealing clothing.

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Wearing a corset causes many health problems like trouble digesting or deforming ribcage problems. Leonard Florsheim (who was vice president of the “Corset and Brassiere Association”) used racial stereotypes to proclaim to wealthier women to continue the road to an hourglass figure. Some writings even went as far as to suggest disease and aging is caused by women going corsetless.

#BeautyIsPain

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Eunice Randall broadcasting as an announcer 

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Eunice Randall was the first woman to be an announcer on Boston radio where she would partake in reading stories to children, singing with co-stars, and interpreting the news. Fans liked Randall so much they mailed her letters from many different cities.

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Elinor Smith was the youngest pilot at age 17 to accomplish the new world-record for an 18 hour round trip circling New York City in 1929. Smith surpassed the frigid night air and body cramps to pave her way to victory.

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Edna St. Vincent Millay got her fame from becoming a young literary sensation at year 17 when she published a poem named “Renascence” when she won an award from St. Nicholas magazine. In most of her poems, she expresses the need for women to have control over their own bodies, minds, and funds. No one could silence her poems’ physical stance about political injustices.  For example in 1927 in Massachusetts, she protested for two male immigrants who were going to jail. Millay got fined for the protesting but she refused to pay the fee in the need of justice. Sadly, that night the immigrants died under government care, but her voice did not go unheard.

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Gabrielle Chanel popularized the fashion trend of having the bobbed hair style by an accidental ignition of a gas hot water heater. Chanel also became a seamstress who was famous for making hats with huge silk flowers and created a notable jersey knit sweaters made for leasuire sports like golfing. Still on the come up, Chanel shocked locals by becoming a part-time singer on the cabaret stage when she was known as the eminent “Coco Chanel”.

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Alice was a poet, activist, educator, and journalist in the Harlem Renaissance. Alice was light-skinned, making the color of her skin not as clear.  This allowed her to go to places that some could not. Alice wrote 6 years for the New Orleans paper and was publishing her short stories at 20 years old. She taught in many school and colleges. In 1915, she was a field organizer for women’s suffrage and served with a National Defense council during World War 1. She also organized anti-lynching reforms.

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In a popular newspaper article, a surgeon debuts a themed biography about the many health concerns regarding High-Heels. She talked about how high-heels have caused arch problems, sprained tendons, and toe separation. Women were shocked about this discovery. Most women of this time separated from high-heels to wearing flats.

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In the beginning of the 1920s many women would use strips of cloth during their menstrual cycles until the first period product was made by the brand Kotex.  During the war, nurses would patch up wounded soldiers with surgical pads. Kotex reinvented these pads to be used for period pads that were also flushable. However, menstruation was not discussed as it was known as “dirty” and not known as a natural feminine hygiene product.

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From Buzz Feed News: 25 Pictures Of The Glory That Was The Harlem Renaissance

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The Harlem Renaissance was a very important time in history after the Jim Crow Laws were gone and segregation laws were ended. As Nikki Grimes said, “The Harlem Renaissance was one of the most remarkable periods of artistic growth and exploration in American discovery.” Harlem became a safe haven for black people, musicians, and artists (Grimes 3).

#WomensSuffrageMovement

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“Ah done growed ten feet higher from jus’ listenin’ tug you, Janie. Ah ain’t satisfied wid man self no mo’“(Hurston 192).

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While abortions were not permitted by law, women stepped up to help other women to prevent unlawful pregnancies.

#GirlsSupportGirls

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This video talks about how the Harlem Renaissance grew during the era of reconstruction. Because the Jim Crow Laws were being introduced in the South, black people started to migrate from the South to urban cities in the North. Musicians and all kinds of creative people were able to thrive in Harlem.

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Although women won the right to vote, employers did not have to treat or pay women the same as men.

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Being a Woman of the Harlem Renaissance and facing degrading tribulations, Edmonia Laws became the first Black, Indian-American sculptor at age 59. She disregarded the expectations that were laid on her to become a housewife and to overlook her growing dreams.

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These poems showcase the bold and creative attitude of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Janie experiences life on her own terms and by her own choices, which gives her a feminist wisdom of her own.

“Then you must tell ‘em dat love ain’t somethin’ lak uh grindstone dat’s de same thing everywhere and do de same thing tug everything it touch. Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore” (Hurston 191).

#LiveYourLife

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I am not proud that I am bold

Or proud that I am black.

Color was given me as a gauge

And boldness came with that.

(Grimes 18)

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“‘Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly” (Hurston 1).

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Public Reaction to Their Eyes Were Watching God | PBS LearningMedia

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Opinions on Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Opinions on Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God

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This video from PBS talks about the the different perspectives of her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. From the wonderful review of the general audience  and the disgusted and pointed views from the black community and authors.

#YouGoGirl

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Public Reaction to Their Eyes Were Watching God | PBS LearningMedia

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In this video from the American Masters film Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, learn about the public’s reaction to Their Eyes Were Watching God. Using materials in this activity, students will conduct close reads (of multiple texts) and a classroom debate to gain a thorough understanding of how…

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“Your world is as big as you make it.

I know, for I used to abide

In the narrowest nest in a corner,

My wings pressing close to my side.

But I sighted the distant horizon

Where the skyline encircled the sea

And I throbbed with a burning desire

To travel this immensity.

I battered the cordons around me

And cradled my wings on the breeze,

Then soared to the uttermost reaches

With the rapture, with power, with ease!”

(Grimes 78)

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Even though TeaCake loved Janie, he considered it acceptable to beat her because other men did the same.

“Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because of her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession. No brutal beating at all.  He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss. Everybody talked about it next day in the fields. It aroused a sort of envy in both men and women. The way he petted and pampered her as if those two or three face slaps has nearly killed her made women see visions and the helpless way she hung on him made men dream dreams” (Huston 147).

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The Klu Klux Klan was primarily a white man secret society made to uphold white supremacy, but they soon enlisted women in 1923. The Klu Klux Klan had written a letter to multiple females proclaiming they would better the government and schools for children while also upholding the 100% American Housewife.