In the Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, Hughes sought to refute reductionist attempts to Whitewash the movement by Schuyler, who criticized the "Negro-Art Hokum" as mere hype. (Hughes, the Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain)
The New Negro Movement was concerned with the rehabilitation of the Negro's image in American society. (Locke, 8)
It was not "Negro-Art," Schuyler, insisted, because Art had no categories. (Schuyler, Negro-Art Hokum)
It was the product of the profound structural shifts that occurred in American society as a result of Emancipation and Reconstruction. (Kallen, 4)
Having worked previously in the field of nursing, reaching the position of head nurse at the prestigious Tuskegee Institute's hospital, and as a librarian within the New York Public Library, Larsen embodied the ideal of independence and ambition which eventually became a hallmark of the Harlem Renaissance. Although her literary output was limited to just a pair of novels, Larsen "explored the psychology of urban sophisticates" in both Quicksand and 1929's Passing, "analyzing the psychological intricacies of race consciousness, and exposing the massive pressures to subordinate women's sexuality to the rules of 'race' and class" (Darity, 426)
Inspired by the collective yearning for artistic expression which consumed many newly liberated African-Americans during the heady days of the Reconstruction, the term Harlem Renaissance came to describe a period from 1918 through 1935 in which thousands of former slaves and their descendants migrated from the broken South to the urban centers of the northeastern states. Today modern scholars observe that "as the population of African-Americans rapidly urbanized and its literacy rate climbed, Harlem, New York, the 'Negro capital of America' rose out of the vast relocation" (Lewis, 999) to stand as a monument to the creative and professional heights that were now suddenly in reach for nearly half of the county's population
The reserved and modest writings of Larsen stand in stark contrast to the extravagance and entertainment provided by A'Lelia Walker the esteemed patron of Harlem's emerging artistic, theatrical and literary community. As the heir to enormous wealth and social standing, Walker "was not college-educated, nor did she consider herself an intellectual or an artist," but because "she was that most important of figures, the generous social organizer and artistic sponsor," (Stolba, 722) her influence can be seen and heard through many of the artistic masterpieces to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance
Many instances of heart wrenching tales and poems can be found, that reflect the epoch of the Civil Rights Movement, and challenged the mindset of a racially rigid America of the 1920s. (Gifford) W
During the Harlem Renaissance, all of this began to change. (McWhorter) One particular contributor to this long-awaited movement was Langston Hughes
Even in this poem, he is converging rivers to denote unity, and show his flexibility towards the more acceptable form of expression. (Shaduri) While Hughes' poetry waves the flag of a certain level of coexistence, there were other contributors to the Harlem renaissance that were a little more mutinous in terms of their stance
This veil was responsible for preventing African-Americans from gaining respect and meaningful occupations in their communities. DuBois knew the "problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line" (DuBois)
Hughes was hitting raw nerves with this message and Arthur Davis maintains that Harlem is a common theme in Hughes' poetry because it represents the changing perspectives of the time. In "The Weary Blues," the poet communicates a "Joyous Harlem of the New Negro Renaissance" (Davis 1937)
For African-Americans during this time, the American Dream is an elusive dream that includes equality. When the poet asks if the dream will just "explode?" (Hughes 10), he presents the reader with a powerful image
You ain't tried to pacify nobody but yo'self. To busy listening to yo' own big voice" (Hurston 82)
Harry Phillips writes that this concluding line of the poem, "contrasts mightily with the tone of earlier questions. It is designed both to shock and enlighten readers as to the explosive spirit and drive fueling an American dream and a determined people" (Phillips)
Passionate and poetic Hughes had no problem expressing his beliefs. Michael Schmidt claims to Hughes was so popular and influential during this era that he was nicknamed the "bard of Harlem" (Schmidt 707)
Few had talent and even fewer had morals and scruples. Gatsby parties were legendary among the elite of West Egg (Fitzgerald 1995)
In the chorus was an unknown Josephine Baker, soon to be a star of international fame. White people came by droves to Harlem and white celebrities were eager to be invited to gatherings where they could meet with black poets and painters (Huggins 1994)
Washington for some time. Carver promoted the growth of alternative crops to certain staple crops; these included cotton, peanuts, soybeans and other traditional crops, thus aiding in nutrition for farm families (Asante, 2002)
Washington was among many things an educator, speaker, American author and lead politician; he was a representative of great American leaders that was among the last politicians to speak out against slavery, and among blacks that still did not have the right to vote. Washington had much support among white politicians, religious organizations, educational institutions and many other philanthropists, which is why his work gained much support during the Harlem Renaissance (Norrell, 2009; Ostrom & Macey, 2005)