Analyze the Harlem Renaissance and African American life in the 1920s, including the roots in the Great Migration, the artistic and literary flowering, jazz, and the rise of Black political and cultural movements (Louisiana Student Standards for Social Studies, US History Standard 4: Becoming a World Power through World War II).

What this topic is asking

While much of America argued over change, Black America created one of the great cultural movements in the nation's history. Standard 4 (Becoming a World Power through World War II) wants you to analyze the Harlem Renaissance: its roots in the Great Migration, the artistic and literary flowering, the rise of jazz, and the assertion of Black pride through the New Negro idea and movements such as Marcus Garvey's. LEAP often uses a poem excerpt, a photograph of Harlem, or a description of jazz as the source.

Roots in the Great Migration

The Harlem Renaissance grew directly out of the Great Migration (see the United States in World War I). As Black Americans left the Jim Crow South for Northern cities seeking jobs and freedom, neighborhoods such as Harlem filled with people, talent, and energy. This concentration created communities large enough to support newspapers, theaters, clubs, and publishers, and the relative freedom of the North (though discrimination persisted) gave Black artists room to flourish.

The literary and artistic flowering

Jazz and the Jazz Age

The era's signature sound was jazz, a music born in Black communities with deep roots in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz spread north with the Great Migration and became so central to the decade that the 1920s are often called the Jazz Age. Artists such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington carried it to national fame through records, radio, and clubs, and jazz became one of the United States' most influential cultural exports. For a Louisiana student, the New Orleans roots of jazz are a natural point the exam may highlight.

The "New Negro" and Black pride

This spirit also took political form. Marcus Garvey built a large movement of Black nationalism, promoting racial pride, economic self-reliance, and a "Back to Africa" vision through his Universal Negro Improvement Association. Though Garvey's movement faded after his legal troubles, it showed the appeal of Black pride and self-determination to millions.

Significance

The Harlem Renaissance permanently enriched American literature and music and asserted a powerful new pride in Black identity. It did not end segregation or discrimination, most Black Americans still faced Jim Crow and prejudice, but it built cultural confidence and institutions that would help fuel the civil rights movement decades later (see the civil rights movement).