The Harlem Renaissance Creation of a New Nation Essays

The Harlem Renaissance created a new racial identity for African-Americans living in the United States, after the First World War. This new racial identity caused the African-Americans to become a nation within the United States. A nation is defined as a group of people that share common language, ethnicity, history, and culture. A nation of people may or may not have sovereignty. Harlem, a neighbourhood in Manhattan, New York City, emerged as the â€Å"race capital†1 for African-Americans living in the Northern states. Many African-Americans migrated from the Southern states to the North because of an influx of available jobs after World War I. Influential writer James Weldon Johnson described Harlem as â€Å"being taken without violence.†2 The†¦show more content†¦The race-spirit became renewed and rejuvenated4. The significance of the Harlem Renaissance was that a new African-American identity was established. They were no longer slaves or a lower class, but a nation that had artists, intellects, and it’s own culture. The history and ethnicity of most of the African-Americans living in the United States is similar. Centuries before the Harlem Renaissance, English merchants had gone to the African continent and took prisoner many Africans to be used as slaves in English colonies. The Natives living near the English colonies had not been useful as slaves because they knew the area to well and could easily escape. The African prisoners were taken either to Virginia to work on cotton or tobacco plantations, or to the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations. Many of the Carribean slaves were moved to the United States after the collapse of the sugar industry. After the Emancipation Proclamation, which set the slaves free, many African-Americans had a difficult time assimilating into white American society. There was still a lot of prejudice and discrimination by the white Americans. The history and ethnicity of African-Americans is s imilar, which is one part of becoming a nation. Language is an important part of any nation. A language is a distinct characteristic of a separated group of people. The African-Americans living in United States of America spoke English, just like everyone else.Show MoreRelatedThe Harlem Renaissance, A Social, Cultural, And Artistic Movement1298 Words   |  6 Pages The Harlem Renaissance was a social, cultural, and artistic movement that started in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s. 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Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize â€Å"the Negro† apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects ofRead MoreThe Great Depression And Dust Bowl2250 Words   |  9 Pagesthe decade there was economic boom, the Harlem Renaissance, improved women s rights, and the ending of the captains of industry era. On the other hand, there was the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and Prohibition which were viewed very negatively due to the intense effect they had on the entire country. The decades leading up to the 1920s set the ground work for a lot of the best parts of the 20s, specifically the economic boom. Starting with the creation of monopolies by the likes of Rockefeller