- The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York.
- The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s and early 1930s.
- The Renaissance goes by several alternate names, including "the New Negro movement", "the New Negro Renaissance", and "the Negro Renaissance"
- This renaissance marked the first time in history that African American literary works were taken seriously and brought to the Nation's attention.
- This renaissance focused on the uprise of the credibility of African American media.
- The movement began at the end of World War I.
- One of the reasons the renaissance emerged was due to the formation of an African American middle class after the Civil War.
- The renaissance was primarily a literary movement.
- The movement occured during a period of upheaval in African American rights.
- Many African Americans moved to northern cities to take advantage of employment oppritunities.
Claude McKay was born in Jamaica and later moved to and lived in America.
McKay was an author who wrote poetry and novels depicting life as an African American.
He was one of the first African American writers to attract a widespread white audience.
His first book was called "Home to Harlem", which depicted the life of an African American soldier returning home from war.
He converted to Catholicism in 1942.
Zora Neale Hurston was an African American writer and folklorist.
Hurston was famous for her interpretations of African American folktales and her literary works focusing on African American life in the southern United States.
She wrote the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God", which was published in 1937.
She was a major influence on African American writers during the Harlem Renaissance.
Hurston died due to health problems and passed relatively unrecognized by the literary community.
Jean Toomer was an influential American writer during the Harlem Renaissance.
Toomer's novel "Cane" was an innovative and influential literary landmark that signified a new energy in African American arts.
His novel "Cane" was a largely experimental combination of poetry and prose.
The book documented the life of African Americans in the rural South and urban North.
Was elected into the Georgia Hall of Fame in 2002.
**All photos and facts were taken from Microsoft Student/Encarta. No copyright infringement intended.
