In the 1910s, a great change began. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans left the rural South, seeking factory jobs up North and an escape from oppressive Jim Crow laws. This was the Great Migration. New York City became a primary destination, and a formerly white neighborhood was transformed. Harlem's Black population tripled in just one decade, turning it into the world's Black cultural capital. This was made possible in part by real estate entrepreneur Philip Payton Jr., who began filling vacant apartments with Black tenants after a housing crash. What had been a neighborhood of strangers was becoming a community, a concentration of talent and ambition ready to find its voice.
The Harlem Renaissance
How Black writers, thinkers and musicians made 1920s Harlem a cultural capital, from Alain Locke's "New Negro" and Langston Hughes to Duke Ellington, until the Depression and the 1935 riot ended the era.
Chapter 1
A New Black Capital
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Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly was the Harlem Renaissance?
It was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, and politics centered in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s and 1930s. Sparked by the Great Migration, it redefined how America and the world viewed African American culture.
Who was the 'New Negro'?
The 'New Negro' was a term popularized by philosopher Alain Locke to describe a new generation of African Americans who were outspoken and refused to submit to old racist stereotypes. This figure was proud of their heritage and sought to express their experience through art and intellectual work.
Why did the Harlem Renaissance end?
The era's decline was accelerated by the Great Depression, which worsened economic conditions in Harlem. The 1935 Harlem Riot, sparked by poverty and police brutality rumors, signaled a shift in focus from arts and culture to pressing economic and political activism for civil rights.
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