The Harlem Renaissance

Following World War I, many blacks fled from the south to New York City in hopes of better opportunities. This movement was known as the Harlem Renaissance. During this time the richness of African American art, music, and literature was discovered and appreciated. Numerous short stories, novels, articles, poems, and plays about African Americans were created during this movement. This era also marked the first time African Americans were acknowledged as intelligent and profited from their work. Books like "Negro Metropolis" (1940) by Claude McKay and " Black Manhattan" (1930) by James Weldon Jackson confirmed that many people considered Harlem a capital filled with black intellectuals. Jackson wasn't just an author, he also served as the first African American officer and secretary for the NAACP.

Nightlife and excitement produced speakeasies luring most to Harlem's infamous Cotton Club. Primarily ran by Caucasians, The Cotton Club opened its doors to blacks and whites allowing them to dance the night away.

Harlem helped shape black cultural history by playing a prominate role as the center for protests and organization. W.E.B DuBois helped organize the NAACP and was the editor of their magazine The Crisis. Others praised for their dedication of distributing works geared towards blacks included Charles Johnson, editor of the Urban League's Opportunity. Activists Chandler Owen and A. Phillip Randolph, wrote for the socialist magazine, The Messenger.

Novelist Zora Neale Hurston's best work was Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). McKay's novel Home to Harlem was the first fictional work by an African American to make the best-seller list. Langston Hughes' Not Without Laughter was the first Harlem Renaissance novel to get world recognition.

Visual art and music came together with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's musical Shuffle Along. It was the first musical revue written and performed by an all black cast which included Florence Mills and Josephine Baker.

With these notable pioneers paving the way, blacks became more self-assertive and the term "new Negro" was widely used.