Modern Art Miniseries: 10/20
"The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem between the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s. During this period Harlem [a largely African American borough in New York City] was a cultural center, drawing black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. Many had come from the South, fleeing its oppressive caste system in order to find a place where they could freely express their talents. Among those artists whose works achieved recognition were Langston Hughes and Claude McKay, Countee Cullen and Arna Bontemps, Zora Neale Hurston and Jean Toomer, Walter White and James Weldon Johnson.
The Renaissance was more than a literary movement: It involved racial pride, fueled in part by the militancy of the 'New Negro' demanding civil and political rights. The Renaissance incorporated jazz and the blues, attracting whites to Harlem speakeasies, where interracial couples danced. But the Renaissance had little impact on breaking down the rigid barriers of Jim Crow that separated the races. While it may have contributed to a certain relaxation of racial attitudes among young whites, perhaps its greatest impact was to reinforce race pride among blacks." Wormser, Richard. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 2002. (x)
New Car (South Richmond, Virginia), from the project The Negro in Virginia, Robert McNeil, 1938. Silver gelatin print.
Folk Musicians, Romare Bearden, 1941-1942. Oil on canvas.
Domino Players, Horace Pippin, 1943. Oil on cavnas.
Blackberry Woman, Richmond Barthé. 1930-1932. Bronze.
