Ella Baker Chapter 3: Harlem During The 1930

As a young girl, she was innocent and unaware of all the discrimination in the south. Growing up, Anne has dealt with severe poverty and is often the one bringing income to her family’s home along with her mother. Her employers are a huge factor as to why she is so drawn to the movement. For instance, when Anne learned about Emmitt Till being killed, she ran to her mother for an explanation but her mother had replied “…just do your work like you don’t know nothing… that boy’s a lot better off in heaven than he is here” (262). Her mother brushing off the death of Emmitt Till took the best of her curiosities and she questioned why her mother was acting so afraid although it was obvious that.

Next, “Barbara’s family home was burned to the ground’’ (P.18), because of the hate people had on her. The teenage girl still fought for what she knew was right with courage. Finally, the students daringly demanded desegregation. To Barbara doing that felt like “reaching for the moon” (P.18). With hard work and determination she achieved what she thought

“A woman and a movement: Ida B. Wells and the Anti- Lynching Movement” Cultural constructs that are detrimental to the unity and fairness of all are historically marked by social-political movements that cause an upheaval of old systems. During these tense and often conflictual movements, there are certain voices that stand out among the throng of dramatic and biased opinions. During the anti-lynching movement, Ida B. Wells was one of those voices. She utilized her journalistic capacity and position as author to spread her message of dissention against lynching and the unfair prosecution and deaths of African Americans. Her openly uncensored publications, ’Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in all its phases, and ‘The Red

Who was Augusta Savage and what was the Harlem Renaissance,? The Harlem Renaissance was an extraordinarily creative and revolutionary era in American history. It was an artistic and intellectual movement that helped shape what we know as the U.S today. As for Augusta Savage she was incredible trailblazer who inspired many to bring political and social change through her art. That’s just barely scratching the surface of what the Harlem Renaissance and who Augusta Savage was though.

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great cultural growth in the black community. It is accepted that it started in 1918 and lasted throughout the 1930s. Though named the ‘Harlem’ Renaissance, it was a country-wide phenomenon of pride and development among black Americans, the likes of which had never existed in such grand scale. Among the varying political actions and movements for equality, a surge of new art appeared: musical, visual, and even theatre. With said surge, many of the most well-known black authors, poets, musicians and actors rose to prevalence including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Louis Armstrong, and Eulalie Spence.

African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.

She discusses how Harlem was previously inhabited by European settlers. It wasn’t until the jazz age that black people came to Harlem. Famous jazz musicians played here even though racism was still a big issue. These famous black musicians were able to play for a crowd, but black people were not allowed into the establishment to watch. This was the first time white people sat and listened to something black people did.

New York metropolis, is the tale of the advent of African American urban society and way of life. Even though only one of the many examples of predominantly black neighborhoods in American towns, Harlem is unique in many approaches, most importantly due to the fact historically it has been perceived as the center of African American culture. Simultaneously, at precise ranges of its development, it had a reputation of a black ghetto with residing situations incomparably worse than the ones in different components of the metropolis. Inside the 18th, 19th, and twentieth centuries, some people of mixed ancestry passing for white frequently claimed local American, Slavic, or Southern European ancestry to explain skin shade and capabilities differing

The Harlem Renaissance is a term that encompasses an intellectual and literary movement of the 1920s and 1930s. A renowned scholar, Alain Locke, argued that “Negro life is seizing its first chances for group expression and self determination” (1926). Moreover, The Harlem Renaissance refers to the re-birth of African Americans who needed “an affirmation of their dignity and humanity in the face of poverty and racism” (Gates, 1997: 929). In their research, Shukla and Banerji state the the Harlem Renaissance “can be considered as the spring of Afro-American voice” that previously remained unheard and unnoticed (2012). For the first time black musicians and artists came to the fore of attention and started to be praised for their work.

Nella Larsen’s Passing is a novella about the past experiences of African American women ‘passing’ as whites for equal opportunities. Larsen presents the day to day issues African American women face during their ‘passing’ journey through her characters of Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. During the reading process, we progressively realize ‘passing’ in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s becomes difficult for both of these women physically and mentally as different kinds of challenges approach ahead. Although Larsen decides the novella to be told in a third person narrative, different thoughts and messages of Irene and Clare communicate broken ideas for the reader, causing the interpretation of the novella to vary from different perspectives.

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural boom that took place in the early 1900s. It sparked many great painters, musicians, writers, and many more. However, the time we live in today is much more widespread and therefore will cause many more musicians to sprout new ideas and creations. The production, culture, and access to these things will cause more genres to be made. All these factors are what caused music to become what it is today.

Often referred to as "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most popular female jazz singers in the United States. Throughout her career, Ella was awarded thirteen Grammys and sold over 40 million albums. With a voice that not only encompassed a large range, but a dynamic and powerful sound, Ella could sing almost anything from scatting to the popular tunes of her day. She performed in the top venues all around the world to packed houses, with audiences as diverse as the music she created. Ella came from a small town and impoverished family, but through her talent and determination, skyrocketed to fame creating a legacy that has withstood the sands of time.

The 20th century can be fairly considered as the most important period in the history of African American people because it is just the time when racism discrimination was overcome. For many years before the beginning of the struggle for rights of African-American people, there was a legal system based on white supremacy. African Americans didn't have a real opportunity to vote. Segregation was spread everywhere: black people were not allowed to take seats in public transport which belonged to whites, they could not attend universities and schools for white people, it was even forbidden to drink from the same drinking fountains. Many shops and stores, cafes and restaurants refused service African Americans and treated them as inferior people.

The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that reflected the culture of African Americans in an artistic way during the 1920’s and the 30’s. Many African Americans who participated in this movement showed a different side of the “Negro Life,” and rejected the stereotypes that were forced on themselves. The Harlem Renaissance was full of artists, musicians, and writers who wrote about their thoughts, especially on discrimination towards blacks, such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Langston Hughes. The Harlem Renaissance was an influential and exciting movement, and influenced others to fight for what they want and believed in. The Harlem Renaissance was the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

From the genocides of different ethics, to freedom is taken away in minority nations. Angela Davis expresses her views on political aspects of hard punishment upon human beings Americas’ society. She composed many books supporting her idea on political activism. In chapter 9, “Freedom Is A Constant Struggle,” opens different viewpoints, as a results of a transition in today’s society, starting from the 1960’s to the age of Obama. In addition to the few minority groups, as she relates in this book, the similar of a constant struggle for freedom with in the different ethics groups.