COVE

By the 1920s, the American lifestyle was changing for people of numerous backgrounds. A noteworthy example of this kind of change was the Harlem Renaissance, which all started as the result of numerous African Americans moving up to the area and creating a new community all their own. This was considered a “Great Migration,” and helped to allow Black artists to “reclaim their identity and racial pride in defiance of widespread prejudice and discrimination” (Poetry Foundation). Black culture was able to develop and thrive on its own to the point where Harlem (pictured above) eventually became known as the “Negro capitol of the world.”

Such a big development came with its own developments in expression, particularly in authorship. Many influential figures, such as Langston Hughes, were able to express Black concerns at the time. A major concern that was addressed in these works was the idea of striving for equality, which Hughes aptly does in his poem, “I Too”: To-morrow/I’ll sit at the table/When company comes/Nobody’ll dare/Say to me, /’Eat in the kitchen’/Then.” These particular lines from the poem allude to the issue of segregation on the basis of prejudice, and insist that equality will come soon. This was a more political message of resistance, particularly against Jim Crow laws (Poetry Foundation).

Another major subject of the Harlem Renaissance was Black culture; particularly, bringing black cultural elements such as jazz or blues rhythms into the mainstream culture of the time. Hughes’ works often touch on these notions, as readers can see in his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” A major theme of the work is acknowledging the past, which Hughes achieves by mentioning the links between different peoples in history and the rivers they relied on: “I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. / I built my hut near the Congo, and it lulled me to sleep. / I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyra-mids above it. / I heard the singing of the Mississippi when / Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, / and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all / golden in the sunset.” These comparisons add beauty to life and the human connection to water, allowing readers to fondly look back upon some major moments in history. Overall, through the works of artists and writers such as Langston Hughes, the Harlem Renaissance saw numerous developments for both the African American community and the arts as a whole.

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. “I Too.” The New Negro: An Interpretation, 1925.

Hughes, Langston. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The Crisis, Volume 21, June 1921.

Poetry Foundation. “An Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance.” Poetry Foundation, poetry foundation, 2019, www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/145704/an-introduction-to-the-harlem-renaissance. Accessed 18 April 2024.