In this section, a brief history of what the Harlem Renaissance is will be given.   Click here for a full timeline.
On this page, the following questions will be answered:
  1. When did the Harlem Renaissance occur?
  2. What is the original name for the Harlem Renaissance?
  3. Where did the Harlem Renaissance occur?
  4. What racial group was involved in this movement?
  5. How did the Renaissance begin?
The History
     During the early 1900s, many African-Americans in the South moved North to find jobs. Many of these people came to Harlem, a large area of blacks in New York City. This is where the beginnings of a new culture occurred. Formerly scattered people with similar backgrounds and sense of pride began to formulate their own types of music, art, and literature. These people had great pride in what they had, but the rest of the country did not readily absorb the culture.
     In the 1920s and 1930s, people in the Upper (Greenwich Village) and Lower (Harlem) sections of Manhattan converged to hold literary discussions. Soon, these discussions led to a complete artistic movement in the African-American society called the "New Negro Movement" (later to be called the Harlem Renaissance). During this period of time, the African-American people intensified their pride in their culture and their yearning to be accepted as equals in the United States. This time period not only exposed the nation to the ways of life that the minority had, but it was also a cry against racism that had originated begun during the Civil War and intensified with the Niagara Movement. This cry was led by civil rights leader Marcus Garvey.
     Each genre of the arts showed the country virtually unknown aspects of the African-American. Through this, many of the majority were given a clearer understanding of the minority. The ways of how each shaped the changing views will be explored in each section of the webpage.
  1. When did the Harlem Renaissance occur? The Renaissance occurred during the 1920s and 1930's.
  2. What was the original name for the Harlem Renaissance? The New Negro Movement was the original name.
  3. Where did the Harlem Renaissance occur? New York City was the site of the Harlem Renaissance.
  4. What racial group was involved in this movement? The African-American people were people involved.
  5. How did the Renaissance begin? As Southern blacks moved to the North to find jobs, they formed their own kind of culture and yearning to end the racism that was a part of their everyday lives.