by Gemma Wiseman

Created on: February 20, 2008

The Harlem Renaissance, of the 1920's to 1930's in the U.S., celebrated the fact that Harlem existed. Harlem symbolized a concept: the exciting birth of a black cultural space, inspiring other black artists to join. Harlem was, in reality, a city within a city; spiritually, it was a black world within a white world. It was a cultural and psychological oasis. It was an inspiring space, particularly for writers. The Harlem Renaissance symbolized a concept too. It was like a collective consciousness called Harlem, producing a bank of writing and a community of black writers well beyond Harlem.

After years of bondage as slaves, followed by the uncertain times of Civil War, the real Harlem neighborhood evolved as a place in New York City where black people could come together as a community in their own right and say, "We exist. We are proud to exist. We have an identity now. We can be ourselves, free to live, be educated and speak freely". Literature, art, theatre, dance and music (especially jazz) were a means of expressing that newly shaping identity; "a new era of literary and political awareness began: the celebration of blackness. Authors of the Harlem Renaissance broke with earlier ethnic writers whose work mimicked white standards." www.artandculture.com Black writings symbolized a pride in blackness, unbeholden to and unconditioned by white traditions.

The Harlem Renaissance was fostered by The Negro Literary Movement which emerged earlier in the 20th century. This was a time when there was a notable outpouring of novels by black women, such as Pauline Hopkins. Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and essayists W.E.B. Du Bois and Anna Julia Cooper were legends in their own lifetimes. But the Harlem Renaissance went further. It grounded the movement, offering a sanctuary, a place to for all black artists to be in the company of kindred spirits. And most artists were writers.

Laban Carrick Hill, (in "Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance") mainly credits the "come to Harlem" phenomena to the impassioned activities of historian and socialist, W. E. B. Du Bois.
"The story of the Harlem Renaissance is also the story of Du Bois's life. He really set the stage and brought out the issues of what African American's should expect from American society. He was instrumental in bringing people to Harlem. He was instrumental in the founding of the N double ACP. He was instrumental in supporting people who came to Harlem, and getting their work and music published.

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