To be African American living in Deep South of America was to have no hope at all. To be African American and living in New England was to have very little hope. The number of opportunities for African American's differed greatly between the previous slave owning Southern states and the industrial states of the North East.
In the North East opportunities for African Americans were few but never the less were there. The Renaissance in Harlem shows the great awakening of the repressed African Americans and how they could contribute to the collective American voice. Opportunities that were never available before opened up, whether it was in the new art, music, or literature. Many African American artists and writers were popular and the art industry was blossoming. This time produced some of the greatest American writers at that point, such as Langston Hughes. African American art and music was also popular with people from all ethnic backgrounds but some of it depicted a darker history, showing that suspicions of black people in 1920's were still rife.
Pie chart of religions of African Americans
Ku Klux Klan members and a burning cross, Denver, ...
Cartoon from 1868 ("'Tis but a change of banners -...That has not changed there is still much tension between the races in America.
There were however, political action organizations, such as the NAACP, or the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. These were set up during the 1920's to try and change the rights of African Americans. They united the African American people. This organization was put together to try and campaign for rights of black people and the removal of segregation. This did not come to pass for a few decades, however, until the start of the civil rights movement.
In the industrial states of the north east work was also plentiful for African Americans in the 1920's. It was, however, mostly badly paid factory work. They worked in...