The Harlem Renaissance by

Democracy: By Langston Hughes

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:29:48 UTC

Democracy will not come

Today, this year

Nor ever

Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right

As the other fellow has

To stand

On my two feet

And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,

Let things take their course.

Tomorrow is another day.

I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.

I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Freedom

Is a strong seed

Planted

In a great need.

I live here, too.

I want freedom

Just as you.

Langston Hughes was a very talented poet during the Harlem Renaissance.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:43:41 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:45:21 UTC

This is an Image created by Jacob Lawrence.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:46:07 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:51:25 UTC

Aaron Douglas's 1936 painting "Aspiration" is a powerful work that symbolizes the journey of African Americans from enslavement to freedom and aspiration for a brighter future.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:53:03 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:54:42 UTC

Art such as this shows that even though the African Americans broke free of slavery, they still feel stuck in a society that doesn't fully accept them.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 01:58:15 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 02:04:28 UTC

Musicians like Billie Holiday (Lady Day) sang about heart-wrenching things such as lynching.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 02:12:32 UTC

Southern trees bear a strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

The person in the image is Louis Armstrong, the legendary American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. This particular image captures him performing at Carnegie Hall in New York, N.Y., around February 1947.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 02:23:28 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 02:26:32 UTC

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying
I love you

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 11:53:48 UTC

Here's another image of the infamous Cotton Club.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 11:56:46 UTC

Josephine Baker (1906–1975) was an iconic American-born French entertainer, dancer, singer, actress, World War II spy, and civil rights activist. She achieved immense fame as an expatriate in Europe, particularly in France, where she became a symbol of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance. Baker was also a notable figure in the American Civil Rights Movement and was one of the few women to speak at the 1963 March on Washington.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:00:03 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:01:22 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:03:53 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:08:07 UTC

The individuals in the image are Adelaide Hall and Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson. They are pictured in a promotional photo for the musical comedy Brown Buddies, which premiered on Broadway in 1930.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:12:41 UTC

This Photo shows a glimpse into the Silent Protest Parade of 1917. This parade was inspired to fight against the lynchings and unfair treatment of the African Americans.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:14:39 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:23:34 UTC

All aboard, get on the A train
Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:24:56 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:25:45 UTC

This photograph is identified as a portrait of the Arthur family, taken in Chicago in 1920, shortly after they migrated from the South during the Great Migration. They are shown with a sense of pride and resilience, having fled racial violence and seeking new opportunities in the North.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:27:17 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:30:08 UTC

Artist's like Jacob Lawrence made a series of paintinngs showing the struggles and migration of Black folk.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:31:10 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:33:10 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:35:41 UTC

I, too, am America.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:37:46 UTC

I am the darker brother.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:41:23 UTC

Archie Shepp is a notable figure in jazz, recognized for his work as a tenor saxophone player and composer.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:43:05 UTC

This is a photo of William Johnson painting on the riverbank somewhere in France, next to a white child with no problems.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:53:33 UTC

This Image depicts Black American women working at a lampshade company.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:55:24 UTC

What happens to a dream deferred.

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun.

Or fester like a sore

And then run.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:55:57 UTC

Does it stink like rotten meat.

Or crust and sugar over

like a syrupy sweet.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:57:01 UTC

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 12:57:24 UTC

Or does it explode?

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:01:23 UTC

I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:03:21 UTC

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:11:54 UTC

This Photo shows Langston Hughes signing what appears to be a photo at Howard University.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:13:26 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:16:46 UTC

The painting, titled "Kevin Larmee Gallery Jazz," is an oil painting on stretched canvas by contemporary artist Kevin Larmee. It depicts a lively scene with musicians and dancers.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:17:15 UTC

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:17:48 UTC

The image depicts three African American women in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, around 1925. They represent the women who were part of this significant cultural and artistic movement.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:20:54 UTC

This photo shows another view of the Silent Protest Parade of 1917.

a0428127 — 2025-09-27 13:21:29 UTC

The Cotton Club was a well-known Harlem nightclub of the 1920s and 30s during the Harlem Renaissance, famous for featuring African American performers like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Lena Horne for an exclusive, white-only audience.