Interdisciplinary Quarterly

by Tamedra Fuller

The Harlem Renaissance is one of the most influential times in American history for shedding light on the problematic issues and injustices that African Americans endured during the 20th century, specifically in the 1920s after World War I (Mays 21). The Harlem Renaissance shines a spotlight on major racial issues at an important time in America. Without some of the major figures and key contributors, the Harlem Renaissance movement as we know it would not have had the long-lasting impact it has had throughout the black communities today!

It all started roughly around 1910 after World War I. At that time, African Americans were forced to deal with racism and faced many injustices from their prejudiced white counterparts. In the pursuit of equal rights, many southern African-Americans migrated north, specifically to Manhattan, New York settling in a neighborhood known as Harlem. Harlem was initially built to house middle class white folks, but with the overdevelopment of the area, many flats remained empty, leaving landlords with no choice but to lease to blacks. At that very same time, many jobs where available due to the casualties from World War I which had just ended. Manhattan soon became a breeding ground for eager and enthusiastic poets, musicians, and artists totaling in the thousands. Determined writers were on a mission to seek justice and equality—which ultimately ended up being the great migration to Harlem.

With that being said, the Harlem Renaissance’s most flourishing years were particularly in the 1920s. By this time, great historic poets such as Langston Hughes, WEB Dubois, and Claude McKay, just to name a few, had settled in Harlem and were working on some of their best writings. Although all the poets were unique in their own way, their agendas remained similar…. to bring awareness on racism and to enlighten those who were unaware or chose to turn a blind eye to the devastating tragedies and the atrocities many African-Americans had to endure. The literary scene in Harlem was explosive and if you were an editor, musician, entertainer or writer, Harlem was the place to be at at this time. The Cotton Club played a huge role in the Harlem Renaissance era. It was a famous nightclub that was very successful. Although it was predominantly all blacks that attended, many whites flocked to the club wanting to experience the black culture first-hand for themselves, so entrepreneurs catered to them. There were mixed feelings about allowing whites, while some viewed the integration as one step in the right direction for change and equality (Mays 21).

Moreover, famous poets made a name from themselves during this raging time in Harlem. One honorable mention is Arna Bontemps and his poem titled “A Black Man Talks of Reaping.” Tears where personally shed while reading this poem:

A Black Man Talks of Reaping

I have sown beside all waters in my day.
I planted deep, within my heart the fear
that wind or fowl would take the grain away.
I planted safe against this stark, lean year.

I scattered seed enough to plant the land
in rows from Canada to Mexico
but for my reaping only what the hand
can hold at once is all that I can show.

Yet what I sowed and what the orchard yields
my brother’s sons are gathering stalk and root;
small wonder then my children glean in fields
they have not sown, and feed on bitter fruit. (Bontemps)

Arna Bontemps speaks about hard labor, long days along with strenuous tasks, but still he doesn’t have much to show from it all. See “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” lines 5-9: Arna Bontemps states, “I scattered seed enough to plant the land in rows from Canada to Mexico, but for my reaping only the hand can hold at once is all that I can show.” He refers to the time when minorities worked hard and were paid only pennies on the dollar. After reading this poem, my response was very Dionysian. The poem sparked many emotions for me…. some of sadness, others of sympathy and anger.

In addition, another world-renowned poet, Langston Hughes, contributed to the literary arts tremendously during and after the Harlem Renaissance era. Langston Hughes was also a great influence for literary arts called jazz poetry during the Harlem renaissance movement. He too moved to Harlem in the 1920s to better develop his career as a literary writer, social activist, novelist and play-writer (Grimes 4). He is well-known for his poems including “Harlem: A Dream Deferred.” Langston Hughes goes on to write “What happens to a dream deferred? does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? or fester like a sore— and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” (1-12). This piece of poetry addresses one’s failed or underachieved dream. Langston Hughes goes on to ask in other words, does your dream still exist? Are you willing to continue to chase your dreams? Or will you allow the drive you possess inside to crash and then burn like out of control flames?

Helene Johnson, the author of “Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem,” is also a popular poet who contributed to the literary arts during the Harlem Renaissance. She is also related to Dorothy West, who was a writer during this era. Her poem, “Sonnets of a Negro in Harlem,” spoke to the core of the African-American culture:

Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem

You are disdainful and magnificant—
Your perfect body and your pompous gait,
Your dark eyes flashing solemnly with hate,
Small wonder that you are incompetent
To imitate those whom you so despise—
Your shoulders towering high above the throng,
Your head thrown back in rich, barbaric song,
Palm trees and mangoes stretched before your eyes.
Let others toil and sweat for labor’s sake
And wring from grasping hands their need of gold.
Why urge ahead your supercilious feet?
Scorn will efface each footprint that you make.
I love your laughter arrogant and bold.
You are too splendid for this city street. (Johnson)

She starts out, “you are disdainful and magnificent” (1) talking directly to the reader who might not value their worth or believe in themselves. Helene Johnson goes on to celebrate, “your perfect body and your pompous gait” (2). She tells her audience that no matter their shape or size, their body is also a work of art. Ultimately, the poem was written to uplift, encourage, and inspire. Helene Johnson is also well-known for many other poems that she wrote during the Harlem Renaissance era.

The Harlem Renaissance era is estimated to have ended around the 1930s, which is when the great depression swiped American like a thief in the night, leaving thousands once-employed workers unemployed (Grimes 4). The economy crashed, people were left without jobs, and it was said that blacks were the last hired and first fired, which left many great figures of the Harlem Renaissance without any financial means to feed themselves. This forced people to abandon Harlem and part ways with their fellow colleagues.

In conclusion, the Harlem Renaissance was responsible for some of the best writers, poets, activists, musicians, play-writers, and novelists of all time. Faced with adversity, many African-Americans used their poetic platforms in a positive light, with a spotlight on Harlem in the midst of trying times. The great philosophes of the Harlem Renaissance contributed to an era that is known in history as one of the greatest eras of literary arts. It is imperative that the Harlem Renaissance movement is celebrated in US history as a phase that moved America forward during a time when a person’s worth was solely determined by the color of their skin.

Work Cited

Bontemps, Arna. “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” in The Norton Introduction to Literature, 12th ed. Kelly Mays et al. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Hughes, Langston. “Harlem: A Dream Deferred” in The Norton Introduction to Literature, 12th ed. Kelly Mays et al. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Johnson, Helene. “Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem” in The Norton Introduction to Literature, 12th ed. Kelly Mays et al. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature, 12th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Poetry Foundation. “An Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance: Tracing the Poetic Work of this Crucial Cultural and Artistic Movement,”

Poetry Foundation, 2017, retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/145704/an-introduction-to-the-harlem-renaissance

Grimes, Linda Sue. “Poets of the Harlem Renaissance,” Owlcation, 2017, Owlcation.com/humanities/Poets-of-the-Harlem-Renaissance.

Image: SPIRIT OF HARLEM Mosaic Mural by Louis Del Sarte, Harlem, New York City via Flickr