The Harlem Renaissance was a blossoming of African American culture from 1918-1937, especially in literature, that sought to define black identity and heritage apart from stereotypes like minstrel shows. It was precipitated by the Great Migration of African Americans to northern cities like Harlem, where new social and economic opportunities fostered racial pride. The Harlem Renaissance laid the groundwork for modern African American literature and influenced the Civil Rights movement. Important contributors included poets Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen and author Zora Neale Hurston.

1. The Harlem Renaissance
(c. 1918-37)

2. Definition
• “Blossoming” of African American culture,
especially the creative arts
• Most influential movement in African American
literary history
• Sought to identify “the Negro” apart from white
stereotypes that had influenced black people’s
relationship to their heritage and each other (e.g.
Minstrel shows & possibly Huck Finn)
• Laid the groundwork for all subsequent African
American literature (“Harlem Renaissance”)

3. Background
• Precipitated by northward movement of
blacks into urban spaces
• Aided by higher rates of literacy, creation of
national organizations, new socioeconomic
opportunity, growing race pride
• Ushered in the Civil Rights movement in the
1940s and 1950s (“Harlem Renaissance”)

4. Harlem
• The city of Harlem was the symbolic capitol of
the movement
• Included influences from many sources:
primarily in the US and the Carribbean
• Harlem made “New Negroes” visible and
provided publishing opportunities
• The city was a catalyst for creative expression
& drew blacks from all over the US (“Harlem
Renaissance”)

5. Three Important Contributors

6. Langston Hughes
• “Harlem”
• “As I Grew Older”
• Langston Hughes

7. Countee Cullen
• “Yet I Do Marvel”

8. Zora Neale Hurston
• Their Eyes Were
Watching God

9. Works Cited
Covarrubias, Miguel: dust jacket for Langston Hughes’s “The Weary Blues.
Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/72217/Dust-jacket-designed-by-theMexican-illustrator-and-writer-Miguel>.
Cullen, Countee. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/15616/Countee-Cullen-pastel-byWinold-Reiss-1925>.
"Harlem Renaissance." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/255397/Harlem-Renaissance>.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/73515/First-edition-dust-jacket-ofZora-Neale-Hurstons-Their-Eyes>.