Sedarion Thornton
Coach Johnson
4th period
May 3rd 2013
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance is recognized as being one of the most creative periods in American history. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and it was centered in New York City in a neighborhood called Harlem. Many African Americans were fleeing to New York City because of economic struggles and racism they endured in the South. The creation of literature, art, and music during this period challenged racism and stereotypes to "uplift" the African-American race. African-Americans for the first time had a real reason to experience pride and rejoice in their identity. It was a culture of art and literature that African American people were able to take pride in and gave them a voice to tell their side of their history. This movement helped increase the self-esteem of an entire race of people who had been ignored and put down.
The Harlem renaissance was a time of self-discovery and a time for creativity and talent to finally be recognized. The background and many events of the Harlem Renaissance will be discussed in great detail in this narration.
During the 17th and 18th, Harlem was originally a Dutch settlement mostly in the southern part of Manhattan (kurahulanda). The Dutch discovered Harlem in the year of 1658. Harlem is a large located in northern Manhattan, A New York Borough. Harlem was originally named after the city of Haarlem located in the Netherlands. During the 19th century, Harlem slowly switched from a Dutch community into a heavily African American populated community in the year of 1905 when blacks arrived in mass (Wiki). Many of the blacks lived in small tenements in segregated concentrations. As more and more blacks began to flood into Harlem, Harlem was turned into...