Arts and Letters of the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Black American History #26

00:12:37
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKaegbtcE00

Resumo

TLDRThe Harlem Renaissance, known as the New Negro Movement, was a major cultural and artistic explosion among Black Americans after World War I, lasting into the mid-1930s. This episode covers the vibrant emanation of artistic expression that made Harlem, a small New York neighborhood, a world-renowned hub for Black creativity. The movement was catalyzed by the Great Migration and socio-political changes, bringing a confluence of cultural energy that transcended Harlem to affect cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. Major contributors included sculptor Richmond Barthé, poet Langston Hughes, who captured the authentic Black American experience, and musicians like Duke Ellington who reshaped jazz and blues. The movement consisted of visual arts, literature, and music, defined by a rich tapestry of themes like empowerment, racial identity, and artistic authenticity. Influential publications such as Survey Graphic highlighted these works. The Harlem Renaissance left an indelible mark on American culture, fostering a legacy of Black artistic influence that contemplates the complexities of race and identity.

Conclusões

  • 🎨 The Harlem Renaissance was a flourishing period of Black artistic expression.
  • 📚 Writers like Langston Hughes played pivotal roles, emphasizing authentic Black experiences.
  • 🎶 Musicians like Duke Ellington modernized jazz, influencing future music genres.
  • 🏙 Harlem became the vibrant center of this cultural movement.
  • 🖼 Visual artists like Richmond Barthé portrayed the beauty of Black bodies.
  • 🔍 Publications such as Survey Graphic chronicled this vibrant cultural era.
  • ✊ The movement was a response to racial discrimination and a quest for empowerment.
  • 🌆 It wasn't restricted to Harlem; cities like Chicago and Los Angeles were also influential.
  • 🗣 Themes of racial pride and identity were central to Harlem Renaissance works.
  • 💡 The legacy continues to shape American culture and perceptions of Black identity.

Linha do tempo

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Clint Smith introduces the topic of the Harlem Renaissance, highlighting its significance as a vibrant artistic period in American history post-World War I. This era, also known as the New Negro Movement, was characterized by significant artistic production from black writers, artists, and musicians, centered in Harlem, New York. The movement was fueled by the Great Migration, where millions of Black Americans moved north seeking better opportunities and escaping the South's domestic terrorism. Harlem became a cultural hub, influencing cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, and was marked by new forms of expression across visual arts, literary arts, and music, with notable figures like Richmond Barthé, James Van Der Zee, and Aaron Douglas contributing significantly to the movement.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:12:37

    Langston Hughes is highlighted as a key figure in the literary arts during the Harlem Renaissance. Despite criticism from black intellectuals who preferred a polished image for black Americans, Hughes sought to depict an authentic black experience, without sugarcoating. Other notable literary figures include James Weldon Johnson and Arthur Schomburg, who both contributed significantly to the black diasporic experience. The Harlem Renaissance also had profound impacts on music, with artists like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday transforming the American music scene. The episode emphasizes that these artists' contributions laid the groundwork for modern music and literature, reinforcing the importance of the Harlem Renaissance in shaping American cultural landscapes. Smith reflects on the continuous impact these historical figures have had on contemporary arts and culture.

Mapa mental

Mind Map

Perguntas frequentes

  • What was the Harlem Renaissance?

    The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in the early 20th century, mainly centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, featuring a surge in Black creativity and cultural expression.

  • Who were some prominent figures in the Harlem Renaissance?

    Prominent figures included writer Langston Hughes, sculptor Richmond Barthé, painter Aaron Douglas, and musicians like Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith.

  • What were the major art forms during the Harlem Renaissance?

    Major art forms included visual arts, literary arts, and musical arts, including blues and jazz.

  • Why did the Harlem Renaissance happen?

    It was fueled by the Great Migration of Black Americans from the South to the North for better opportunities, as well as increased racial pride and political activism.

  • How did the Harlem Renaissance impact American culture?

    The Harlem Renaissance left a lasting impact on American arts and letters, influencing future generations and opening doors for Black artistry and cultural expression.

  • What role did Langston Hughes play in the movement?

    Langston Hughes was a key literary figure whose poems reflected the Black experience in America, advocating for authenticity and truth in Black artistic expression.

  • How did music influence the Harlem Renaissance?

    Musicians like Ma Rainey and Duke Ellington popularized blues and jazz, shaping American music and helping communicate the experiences of Black Americans.

  • Which publications helped promote the Harlem Renaissance?

    Publications like Survey Graphic and Opportunity played major roles in highlighting and promoting the works of Harlem Renaissance artists.

  • What themes were explored in Harlem Renaissance art?

    Themes included racial pride, the Black American experience, social injustice, and hopes for a better future.

  • Was the Harlem Renaissance limited to Harlem?

    No, while Harlem was the epicenter, the movement also spread to other cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.

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Rolagem automática:
  • 00:00:00
    hi
  • 00:00:01
    i'm clint smith and this is crash course
  • 00:00:03
    black american history the harlem
  • 00:00:05
    renaissance also known as the new negro
  • 00:00:08
    movement was an outpouring of artistic
  • 00:00:10
    production and expression that took
  • 00:00:12
    place shortly after world war one
  • 00:00:14
    and lasted into the mid-1930s
  • 00:00:17
    it was one of the richest most vibrant
  • 00:00:20
    and most culturally generative artistic
  • 00:00:22
    periods in american history
  • 00:00:24
    and the work that emerged from this
  • 00:00:25
    period continues to shape the landscape
  • 00:00:28
    of american arts and letters today
  • 00:00:31
    in this episode we're going to explore
  • 00:00:33
    some of the writers artists and
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    musicians who turned harlem into a
  • 00:00:37
    world-renowned hub of art and culture
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    and delve into the factors that brought
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    them all together in the first place
  • 00:00:46
    let's start the show
  • 00:00:48
    [Music]
  • 00:00:56
    so a few episodes ago we discussed the
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    great migration
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    the decades when many black americans
  • 00:01:01
    moved to the north for better economic
  • 00:01:03
    opportunities and to escape domestic
  • 00:01:05
    terrorism in the south
  • 00:01:08
    we also talked about the red summer of
  • 00:01:09
    1919 where black veterans were targeted
  • 00:01:12
    by white supremacist groups police
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    officers and mobs upon their return from
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    world war one
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    as these things were happening
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    more and more people in the black
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    community
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    became increasingly politicized
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    they were tired of being treated as
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    second-class citizens and many began
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    more forcefully advocating for their
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    civil and political rights
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    large cultural shifts can not only serve
  • 00:01:36
    as a catalyst for social and political
  • 00:01:38
    change
  • 00:01:39
    but they can also spark new forms of
  • 00:01:41
    creative and artistic expression by the
  • 00:01:44
    time the first great migration was over
  • 00:01:46
    over 1.5 million black americans had
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    moved to the north
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    with 175 000 of them
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    settling into harlem
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    a single neighborhood in new york city
  • 00:01:57
    even though harlem was only three square
  • 00:01:59
    miles
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    this influx of black americans
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    turned the small area
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    into the largest concentration
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    of black people in the world
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    these communities develop new forms of
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    expression
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    that were so unique
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    so moving
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    and so unlike anything america had ever
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    seen before
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    that harlem gained both national
  • 00:02:21
    and international attention and this
  • 00:02:23
    explosion of artistic creation
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    wasn't just limited to harlem
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    it also flourished in cities like
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    chicago
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    cleveland los angeles and washington dc
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    we can separate much of the work
  • 00:02:37
    into three categories
  • 00:02:39
    visual arts
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    literary arts
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    and musical arts
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    there were so many incredible visual
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    artists who contributed to the harlem
  • 00:02:47
    renaissance
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    one of them was sculptor richmond barthe
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    who enrolled at the art institute of
  • 00:02:52
    chicago to study oil painting despite
  • 00:02:56
    not having any formal training or a high
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    school education
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    while there however he was drawn to
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    sculpting and ended up creating work
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    that betrayed the beauty of the black
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    body
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    photographer james van der zee provided
  • 00:03:09
    some of the most complete documentation
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    of african american life during this era
  • 00:03:14
    especially the emerging black middle
  • 00:03:16
    class in new york muralist and artist
  • 00:03:19
    aaron douglas used egyptian and west
  • 00:03:21
    african sources in his art to depict
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    segregation
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    and race
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    his innovative techniques drew the
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    attention of black intellectuals like
  • 00:03:30
    w.e.b du bois who would ask him to
  • 00:03:32
    provide illustrations for their journals
  • 00:03:35
    and there was meet-a-vo warrick fuller
  • 00:03:37
    an interdisciplinary artist and sculptor
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    who portrayed the black american
  • 00:03:42
    experience using african themes
  • 00:03:44
    born in philadelphia pennsylvania she
  • 00:03:47
    said her work was quote
  • 00:03:48
    of the soul
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    rather than the figure
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    she was the first african-american woman
  • 00:03:54
    to receive a u.s government commission
  • 00:03:56
    for her art
  • 00:03:57
    and of course the harlem renaissance
  • 00:03:59
    included the literary arts
  • 00:04:02
    let's go to the thought bubble
  • 00:04:03
    langston hughes was one of the most
  • 00:04:06
    famous poets of the day
  • 00:04:07
    he was born in joplin missouri in 1901
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    and lived in a variety of places across
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    the united states from illinois to ohio
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    to new york city where he spent a year
  • 00:04:18
    at columbia university
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    he also traveled abroad to europe and
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    africa while working as a seaman
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    in 1926 he published his first book of
  • 00:04:28
    poetry the weary blues while living in
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    washington dc
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    he finished his education at lincoln
  • 00:04:34
    university in pennsylvania which was a
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    historically black university where he
  • 00:04:38
    felt like he had more support
  • 00:04:40
    than he did at columbia
  • 00:04:42
    langston hughes's poetry
  • 00:04:44
    was unique because it reflected both his
  • 00:04:46
    personal experience as a black man
  • 00:04:47
    living in america
  • 00:04:49
    and the experiences of working-class
  • 00:04:51
    black people across the country
  • 00:04:53
    he strived to reflect what he thought of
  • 00:04:56
    as the authentic black experience
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    and refused to make black life look
  • 00:05:00
    happier or less painful
  • 00:05:03
    than it actually was for so many
  • 00:05:05
    and because of this
  • 00:05:07
    hughes had many critics
  • 00:05:08
    many black intellectuals believe that
  • 00:05:11
    hughes was portraying black americans in
  • 00:05:13
    a bad light
  • 00:05:14
    but in his autobiography
  • 00:05:16
    hughes responded
  • 00:05:18
    the negro critics and many of the
  • 00:05:20
    intellectuals were very sensitive about
  • 00:05:22
    their race in books
  • 00:05:23
    and still are
  • 00:05:24
    in anything that white people were
  • 00:05:26
    likely to read they wanted to put their
  • 00:05:28
    best foot forward their politely
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    polished and cultural foot
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    and only that foot
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    hughes
  • 00:05:35
    wasn't daunted by the criticism and
  • 00:05:38
    believed that his work showed black life
  • 00:05:40
    and america
  • 00:05:41
    for what it was
  • 00:05:43
    he wasn't interested in hiding anything
  • 00:05:45
    from anyone
  • 00:05:47
    thanks thoughtbubble
  • 00:05:49
    hughes wrote in his essay the negro
  • 00:05:51
    artist and the racial mountain
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    quote
  • 00:05:54
    we younger negro artists who create
  • 00:05:57
    now intend to express our individual
  • 00:05:59
    dark-skinned selves without fear
  • 00:06:02
    or shame
  • 00:06:03
    if white people are pleased
  • 00:06:05
    we're glad
  • 00:06:06
    if they are not
  • 00:06:08
    it doesn't matter
  • 00:06:10
    we know we are beautiful
  • 00:06:12
    and ugly too
  • 00:06:14
    one of my favorite poems of his
  • 00:06:16
    is entitled harlem
  • 00:06:18
    which goes
  • 00:06:20
    what happens to a dream deferred
  • 00:06:22
    does it dry up like a raisin in the sun
  • 00:06:26
    or fester like a sore
  • 00:06:28
    and then run
  • 00:06:30
    does it stink like rotten meat
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    or crust and sugar over
  • 00:06:35
    like a syrupy sweet
  • 00:06:37
    maybe
  • 00:06:38
    it just sags like a heavy load
  • 00:06:41
    or
  • 00:06:43
    does it explode
  • 00:06:44
    langston hughes was one of many famous
  • 00:06:47
    black writers during the harlem
  • 00:06:48
    renaissance in fact there were so many
  • 00:06:51
    that a special issue of the survey
  • 00:06:53
    graphic a social science and culture
  • 00:06:55
    journal was produced in 1925 to
  • 00:06:58
    commemorate the impact of harlem on the
  • 00:07:00
    american literary landscape it featured
  • 00:07:03
    scholarly writings in history and
  • 00:07:05
    sociology from some very important
  • 00:07:07
    figures in academia and research
  • 00:07:10
    one was james weldon johnson
  • 00:07:13
    a lawyer a poet an activist who is best
  • 00:07:16
    known for co-writing lift every voice
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    and sing
  • 00:07:19
    which is now known as the black national
  • 00:07:22
    anthem
  • 00:07:23
    additionally he was an active
  • 00:07:25
    participant in the naacp
  • 00:07:27
    and served as its first black executive
  • 00:07:29
    secretary from 1920
  • 00:07:31
    to 1930.
  • 00:07:33
    another writer featured in this special
  • 00:07:34
    issue was arthur schomburg
  • 00:07:37
    also sometimes known as arturo
  • 00:07:40
    schomburg a pioneer in the area of black
  • 00:07:42
    history was an afro-puerto rican man who
  • 00:07:45
    developed one of the most significant
  • 00:07:46
    collections of printed material about
  • 00:07:48
    the black diasporic experience in the
  • 00:07:51
    world his collection was acquired by the
  • 00:07:53
    new york public library and the
  • 00:07:55
    collection grew into what would become
  • 00:07:57
    the schomburg center for research in
  • 00:07:59
    black culture
  • 00:08:00
    the famous issue of the survey graphic
  • 00:08:02
    also included work from walter white a
  • 00:08:05
    lynching investigator who attempted to
  • 00:08:07
    secure passage of a federal
  • 00:08:08
    anti-lynching bill as well as pawned by
  • 00:08:11
    writers like claude mckay and county
  • 00:08:13
    cullen
  • 00:08:14
    mckay and cullen were both cornerstones
  • 00:08:16
    of the harlem renaissance literary scene
  • 00:08:19
    but
  • 00:08:20
    with divergent approaches
  • 00:08:22
    cullen who many scholars believe was the
  • 00:08:25
    person langston hughes was being
  • 00:08:26
    critical of in the negro artist and the
  • 00:08:28
    racial mountain essay embraced
  • 00:08:30
    colorblindness in his work and wrote in
  • 00:08:32
    a prose that appealed to eurocentric
  • 00:08:34
    literary sensibilities mckay
  • 00:08:37
    a jamaican immigrant proudly wrote
  • 00:08:39
    poetry in his jamaican dialect in
  • 00:08:41
    addition to what he called
  • 00:08:43
    straight english one of mckay's most
  • 00:08:45
    famous poems
  • 00:08:46
    if we must die
  • 00:08:48
    speaks to the rising sense of black
  • 00:08:49
    militancy in many parts of the black
  • 00:08:52
    community
  • 00:08:53
    it goes
  • 00:08:55
    if we must die
  • 00:08:57
    oh let us nobly die
  • 00:08:59
    so that our precious blood may not be
  • 00:09:01
    shed in vain
  • 00:09:03
    then
  • 00:09:04
    even the monsters we defy shall be
  • 00:09:06
    constrained to honor us though dead
  • 00:09:09
    the editor of this historic issue of the
  • 00:09:11
    survey graphic was elaine locke
  • 00:09:14
    locke the first black american to earn a
  • 00:09:16
    rhodes scholarship received both his
  • 00:09:18
    undergraduate degree and phd in
  • 00:09:20
    philosophy from harvard he would go on
  • 00:09:23
    to teach at howard university and
  • 00:09:25
    publish a book called the new negro
  • 00:09:28
    a manifesto and collection of essays
  • 00:09:30
    that embodied the spirit of the movement
  • 00:09:32
    and expounded upon the importance of the
  • 00:09:34
    harlem renaissance
  • 00:09:36
    locke highlighted even more black
  • 00:09:38
    literary geniuses
  • 00:09:40
    folks like gwendolyn bennett and zora
  • 00:09:43
    neale hurston bennett was a writer
  • 00:09:46
    editor and poet who studied art in the
  • 00:09:48
    united states and abroad
  • 00:09:50
    she was also assistant to the editor at
  • 00:09:53
    opportunity which was the major
  • 00:09:55
    publication of the urban league and
  • 00:09:57
    published many writers during the harlem
  • 00:09:59
    renaissance
  • 00:10:00
    hurston it wasn't fully appreciated
  • 00:10:02
    until after her death
  • 00:10:04
    was a writer known for her efforts to
  • 00:10:06
    preserve the folklore of black southern
  • 00:10:08
    life
  • 00:10:09
    she wrote often about the nuanced
  • 00:10:11
    experiences of black women best
  • 00:10:13
    exemplified in her most well-known work
  • 00:10:15
    the book
  • 00:10:17
    their eyes were watching god
  • 00:10:19
    we'll learn more about her in a few
  • 00:10:21
    episodes
  • 00:10:22
    in the area of music
  • 00:10:24
    blues and jazz revolutionized the
  • 00:10:26
    american landscape
  • 00:10:27
    blues women singers such as ma rainey
  • 00:10:30
    known as the mother of the blues and
  • 00:10:32
    bessie smith
  • 00:10:33
    known as the empress of the blues
  • 00:10:35
    used the remarkable voices to express
  • 00:10:38
    their highs
  • 00:10:39
    their lows their challenges and their
  • 00:10:41
    victories
  • 00:10:43
    making their way through the united
  • 00:10:44
    states as black women
  • 00:10:46
    they especially focused on the stories
  • 00:10:49
    of working class black life
  • 00:10:51
    and both women
  • 00:10:52
    also played an important role in
  • 00:10:54
    exposing larger audiences
  • 00:10:56
    to the music coming out of black
  • 00:10:58
    communities
  • 00:10:59
    another important jazz musician during
  • 00:11:01
    this period was duke ellington
  • 00:11:03
    he helped popularize big band style jazz
  • 00:11:05
    music in the united states and produced
  • 00:11:08
    many concerts at carnegie hall in new
  • 00:11:09
    york city
  • 00:11:10
    other legendary musicians of the era
  • 00:11:12
    included yubi blake one of the first
  • 00:11:14
    black americans to compose a major
  • 00:11:16
    broadway musical
  • 00:11:18
    and billie holiday whose song strange
  • 00:11:20
    fruit is credited with being the first
  • 00:11:22
    protest song of the civil rights era
  • 00:11:25
    in fact many modern forms of music are
  • 00:11:28
    influenced by blues and jazz
  • 00:11:30
    including rock
  • 00:11:31
    pop
  • 00:11:32
    country and hip-hop we are just
  • 00:11:35
    scratching the surface of the artistic
  • 00:11:37
    outpouring of the harlem renaissance
  • 00:11:39
    there are so many artists that we could
  • 00:11:40
    have talked about today and more that
  • 00:11:42
    we'll talk about in the episodes to come
  • 00:11:45
    but what's clear
  • 00:11:46
    is that black americans have made
  • 00:11:47
    countless contributions to the cultural
  • 00:11:50
    artistic
  • 00:11:51
    musical and literary landscape of this
  • 00:11:54
    country we can see it everywhere
  • 00:11:56
    and as a writer like myself
  • 00:11:58
    i know that my work is only possible
  • 00:12:00
    because of the path that was laid by
  • 00:12:02
    these remarkable people
  • 00:12:04
    and who knows
  • 00:12:05
    maybe i'll start painting or pick up a
  • 00:12:08
    little bit of trumpet playing on the
  • 00:12:10
    side
  • 00:12:11
    or maybe not
  • 00:12:13
    thanks for watching
  • 00:12:14
    i'll see you next time
  • 00:12:16
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Etiquetas
  • Harlem Renaissance
  • Black History
  • Artistic Movement
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Langston Hughes
  • Great Migration
  • Cultural Expression
  • Visual Arts
  • Literature