The Harlem Renaissance was an eruption of African-American culture throughout all mediums. One medium in particular was literature. The outburst of literature was an expression of self, of the African-American man, woman, and child. African-Americans had suffered centuries of anguish, and the culmination of agony and torment caused these African-Americans to redefine their culture and be proud of their rich heritage. This heritage manifested itself in its optimism despite adversity, and willingness to always fight for a cause: equality. Literature during the period was about preparing for the future, but making note of the past. Literature was intended to redefine the perceptions of African-Americans and to demonstrate that they were not inferior; they were a group of geniuses, inventors, and creators, only halted by the heavy chains of slavery and the symbolic chains of racism. MV
Langston hughes
Hughes was born in 1902 to a disintegrated family and he constantly moved as a child. He had many jobs and traveled to Europe and Africa as a seaman. In 1924, he moved to Washington D.C. He published his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, two years later. He graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930, he published Not Without Laughter, his first novel, and it won the Harmon gold medal for literature. From the twenties to the sixties, he was known for his portrayal of black life in America. He wrote novels, play, short stories, and poetry; he is also known for his involvement in the world of jazz.He refused to differentiate between his own experience and the common experience of black America. Whether it be their suffering or their laughter, Hughes wanted to tell the story of his people that reflected their culture. He also wrote The Poetry of the Negro and I, Too, Sing America. Hughes was influenced bu Walt Whitman, Carl Sandburg, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, but little did he know that he would influence an entire culture and generations to come.
I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.
Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
Claude McKay
McKay was a Jamaican-born author that lived from 1889 to 1948. His older brother served as his educator, who possessed countless English novels, poetry, and scientific texts. When he was twenty, McKay published Songs of Jamaica, which was about his impressions of black life in Jamaica. In 1912, McKay attended Tuskegee Institute in the United States. He published "The Harlem Dancer" and "Invocation" five years later. These two sonnets were about his reactionary views on the injustices of black life in the United States. He was not only wrote about social and political issues; he also wrote about his homeland, Jamaica, and love. McKay would set the tone for the Harlem Renaissance and influence many people.
Language
Black slang during the Harlem Renaissance was an extremely inventive oral art form that is commonly known as Harlemese. Many words and expressions did not originate in Harlem since many have Southern roots. Harlemese was an important aspect of the New Negro Movement; large figures, such as Hurston and Thurman, even published glossaries of Harlemese slang. MV
common slang terms
Negro: nigger, spade, zigaboo, jigaboo, charcoal, suede, or dinge. Whites: fay, ofay, pink, dap, pinktail, Miss Anne or Annie (female), Mr. Charlie or Eddie (male). White Southerner: peckerwood, redneck Thousand on the plate: beans Unsheik: divorce Passing: passing for white Light-skinned: yaller, pink, honey, olive, pumpkin seed Middle ranges: chestnut, cocoa brown, maroon, nut brown, seal skin, low brown Dark-skinned: blue, charcoal, inky dink, low black, lam black, damn black, ebony black