Week Lecture Notes: The Harlem Renaissance

Previous discussions focused on the reconstruction era post-Civil War.
The Harlem Renaissance is a cultural, intellectual, and political movement in African American history that emerged significantly in the early 20th century.
This lecture is informed by Glenn Jordan's 2011 essay titled Remembering the African American Past: Langston Hughes, Out of the Glass, and Black Art of the Harlem Renaissance.
Students are encouraged to read the complete essay for comprehensive understanding.

Historically viewed simply as an artistic and literary movement.
Jordan encourages a broader interpretation as a deliberate political project aimed at reconstructing African American identity and history.
- Reconstructing collective memory and identity through artistic expression.

Cultural historian and photographer focusing on African American intellectual history and collective memory.
States: "Behind everything I do… is all about identity and representation and culture, as well as multiculturalism."
Emphasizes the politics of representation and collective memory through his cultural productions.

Defined as emerging during the 1920s but rooted in developments from the 1890s to the 1930s.
- Period marked by the growth of Black literary genres, poetry, and visual arts.
Significant migration patterns contributed to this emergence, specifically the Great Migration (late 1890s to early 1900s).
- Movement of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the rural South to northern urban centers.
- Established a dense Black community where African American intellectual and artistic exchange flourished.
Important to note that this migration instigated new social and political consciousness in these communities.

Many African American soldiers fought for democracy abroad only to return to racial segregation and violence.
- This contradiction fueled a reaction leading into the Harlem Renaissance.
- Heightened racial awareness and activism in African American communities post-war.

The Great Migration: Created opportunities for artistic expression and garnered a unique cultural identity in the North.
Aftermath of World War I: Soldiers returning to oppressive conditions ignited a political and cultural awakening.
Emergence of influential Black intellectuals and organizations advocating for civil rights and racial pride.

Defined as a memory that reconstructs and recovers the previous one, providing a new perspective on historical narratives.
Critical for understanding the Harlem Renaissance as a movement challenging dominant historical narratives that portrayed African Americans as devoid of culture or history.

The term remembering is hyphenated to indicate a process of reassembling fragmented identities and histories in the context of African American heritage.
Jordan argues that the Harlem Renaissance serves as a method of restoring dignity and continuity to a historically fragmented experience through artistic and intellectual engagement.
- Important understanding of memory is tied to reclaiming identity and theatrical expression of African American history.

The term "New Negro" was popularized by Alain Locke in 1925, characterized as an assertive, educated African American rejecting patterns of accommodation in society.
Represented a reaffirmation of African American identity, confidence, and political consciousness.
Expanded beyond individual identity to signify a collective historical consciousness among African Americans during the Renaissance.

The New Negro symbolizes the rejection of internalized racial inferiority and the quest for African heritage recovery.
Engaged Black artists and intellectuals sought to renew cultural identity focusing on reclamation of heritage in their artistic contributions.

The Harlem Renaissance was a conscious cultural, intellectual, and political movement intent on reshaping African American history amidst oppressive conditions.
Emerged from key historical contexts including the Great Migration and post-World War I racial tensions.
The concept of the New Negro illustrates a shift towards historical awareness and cultural pride, directly shaping the artistic landscape of the 1920s.

The next lecture will delve into specific influential figures, particularly Langston Hughes and others notable in advancing the goals of the Harlem Renaissance.
Emphasis will be placed on their works and contributions to reconstructing African American identity.