The Harlem Renaissance

The celebrated Black poet Langston Hughes once recalled what it was like to behold Harlem during what we now call the Harlem Renaissance. It was 1921. He was 19 and newly arrived from Missouri, and he’d gotten on a New York City subway train to ride uptown.

“I can never put on paper the thrill of that underground ride to Harlem,” Hughes later wrote. “I went up the steps and out into the bright September sunlight. Harlem! I stood there, dropped my bags, took a deep breath, and felt happy again.”

Amazing things were happening in Harlem in the 1920s. In just a few years, it had been transformed from a sleepy section of upper Manhattan into what was being called the capital of Black America. Its residents had formed a community in which they were creating music, literature, and art that was their own—and also uniquely American. Harlem was the place for an ambitious young Black creator to be.

For generations, Harlem was considered the countryside, a place where wealthy New Yorkers owned estates. But by the late 19th century, immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and other European countries had also settled in the 1.5-square-mile area. Sensing opportunity, real estate developers built houses and apartment buildings in hopes of luring middle-class White families into a freshly created neighborhood.

The celebrated Black poet Langston Hughes once recalled what it was like to behold Harlem during what we now call the Harlem Renaissance. It was 1921. He was 19 and newly arrived from Missouri, and he’d gotten on a New York City subway train to ride uptown.

“I can never put on paper the thrill of that underground ride to Harlem,” Hughes later wrote. “I went up the steps and out into the bright September sunlight. Harlem! I stood there, dropped my bags, took a deep breath, and felt happy again.”

Amazing things were happening in Harlem in the 1920s. In just a few years, it had been transformed from a quiet section of upper Manhattan into what was being called the capital of Black America. Its residents had formed a community. In it, they were creating music, literature, and art that was their own. Their creations were also uniquely American. Harlem was the place for a driven young Black creator to be.

For generations, Harlem was considered the countryside. It was a place where wealthy New Yorkers owned estates. But by the late 19th century, immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and other European countries had also settled in the 1.5-square-mile area. Sensing opportunity, real estate developers built houses and apartment buildings. They hoped to lure middle-class White families into a freshly created neighborhood.

Instead, Harlem became a magnet for African Americans. Black New Yorkers from other parts of the city went there to escape discrimination and overcrowding. Many people also arrived from Southern states during what became known as the Great Migration, a period beginning in 1910 when millions of Black Southerners, fleeing racial violence and segregation, relocated to cities in the North and Midwest to seek economic and educational opportunities. Black immigrants from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations arrived too, making the area even more diverse.

By the early 1920s, Harlem had the country’s highest concentration of Black people. In its cafés, churches, and homes, in theaters and on the streets, some of the era’s most talented musicians, writers, and artists found inspiration—and the freedom to express themselves. The result was a new cultural identity for Black Americans that would come to be known as a renaissance, or rebirth. And thanks to new means of communication—including radio, records, and movies—its influence would extend far beyond the city blocks where it began, notes John Reddick, a Harlem historian and scholar at Columbia University in New York City.

The Harlem Renaissance “crossed all boundaries, to both Black and White Americans, and to an international audience,” Reddick says. And, he adds, it “was the first salvo in advancing the broader possibilities of joy and pride in a varying identity of what was American.”

Instead, Harlem became a magnet for African Americans. Black New Yorkers from other parts of the city went there to escape unjust treatment and overcrowding. Many people also arrived from Southern states. They came during what became known as the Great Migration. During this period, which began in 1910, millions of Black Southerners relocated to cities in the North and Midwest. Those who migrated were fleeing racial violence and segregation. They also sought economic and educational opportunities. Black immigrants from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations arrived too. This influx made the area even more diverse.

By the early 1920s, Harlem had the country’s highest concentration of Black people. In its cafés, churches, and homes, in theaters and on the streets, some of the era’s most talented musicians, writers, and artists found inspiration. They also found the freedom to express themselves. The result was a new cultural identity for Black Americans. This would come to be known as a renaissance, or rebirth. Its influence would extend far beyond the city blocks where it began, notes John Reddick, a Harlem historian and scholar at Columbia University in New York City. And that was thanks to new means of communication, he adds, including radio, records, and movies.

The Harlem Renaissance “crossed all boundaries, to both Black and White Americans, and to an international audience,” Reddick says. And, he adds, it “was the first salvo in advancing the broader possibilities of joy and pride in a varying identity of what was American.”

What was it like to stroll the streets of 1920s Harlem? They were full of people going to work, including Black doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. Throughout the day, on blocks densely packed with apartment buildings, neighbors stopped to chat. On the area’s wide avenues, Harlemites flocked to stores, theaters, and churches. The air buzzed with talk of society, politics, and more.

Throughout Harlem, the sounds of pianos, horns, and singers poured into the streets. Musicians from far and wide flocked to dozens of the neighborhood’s theaters, clubs, and dance halls to contribute to a new form of music that would become known as jazz. Trumpeter Louis Armstrong—a native of New Orleans—displayed his emerging genius as one of music’s greatest soloists. He and bandleaders such as Duke Ellington raised popular music to an art form.

What was it like to stroll the streets of 1920s Harlem? They were full of people going to work. That included Black doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. On blocks densely packed with apartment buildings, neighbors stopped to chat throughout the day. On the area’s wide avenues, Harlemites flocked to stores, theaters, and churches. The air buzzed with talk of society, politics, and more.

Throughout Harlem, the sounds of pianos, horns, and singers poured into the streets. Musicians from far and wide flocked to dozens of the neighborhood’s theaters, clubs, and dance halls to get in on a new form of music that would become known as jazz. Trumpeter Louis Armstrong displayed his emerging genius as one of music’s greatest soloists. A native of New Orleans, he and bandleaders such as Duke Ellington raised popular music to an art form.

Locals invented popular dances that later swept the country, including the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. Harlem also spawned some of America’s first important recording stars, most of them women, including Bessie Smith. Called the Empress of the Blues, Smith sang of good times and bad with pride, humor, and even defiance—insisting on living as an independent woman in a male-dominated world. Her big sound and bold attitude have been passed down through countless singers, including Aretha Franklin and Beyoncé.

Despite the community they’d found in Harlem, Black people still lacked fundamental rights as Americans—and would for decades to come. It wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, that segregation would be outlawed in public places.

Even in their own neighborhood in the 1920s, Harlemites felt the sting of discrimination. White people flocked to legendary Harlem nightspots like the Cotton Club, where Ellington’s tuxedo-clad band entertained them. Yet in that and other places owned by White businessmen, African Americans couldn’t enter as customers—only as employees or performers.

Locals invented popular dances that later swept the country, including the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. Harlem also spawned some of America’s first important recording stars. Most of them were women, including Bessie Smith. Called the Empress of the Blues, Smith sang of good times and bad with pride, humor, and even defiance. She insisted on living as an independent woman in a male-dominated world. Her big sound and bold attitude have been passed down through countless singers, including Aretha Franklin and Beyoncé.

Despite the community they’d found in Harlem, Black people still lacked essential rights as Americans. That would continue for decades to come. For example, it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that segregation would be outlawed in public places.

Even in their own neighborhood in the 1920s, Harlemites felt the sting of injustice. White people flocked to legendary Harlem nightspots like the Cotton Club. There, Ellington’s tuxedo-clad band entertained them. But in the Cotton club and other places owned by White businessmen, African Americans couldn’t enter as customers. They were only allowed as employees or performers.

The writers of Harlem fought this injustice with their words. From the beginning of the 20th century, the neighborhood had been home to journals and newspapers that took on the political and social battles of the day. During the Harlem Renaissance, poets and novelists spoke with a bold new voice. In 1919, poet Claude McKay responded to a wave of anti-Black violence around the country with his sonnet “If We Must Die,” which calls for action in the face of injustice:

“Like men we’ll face the murderous,
cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying,
but fighting back!”

As the music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance made their way around the world, people took note. Harlem was becoming a “mythic place,” says Reddick, the historian.

But it didn’t last. In October 1929, the Wall Street stock market crashed, sending the global economy into a downward spiral that led to the Great Depression (1929-39). Jobs disappeared worldwide—along with most of the money that supported book publishing, the arts, and entertainment in Harlem.

The writers of Harlem fought this injustice with their words. From the beginning of the 20th century, the neighborhood had been home to journals and newspapers that took on the political and social battles of the day. During the Harlem Renaissance, poets and novelists spoke with a bold new voice. In 1919, poet Claude McKay responded to a wave of anti-Black violence around the country with his sonnet “If We Must Die.» The poem calls for action in the face of injustice:

“Like men we’ll face the murderous,
cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying,
but fighting back!”

As the music and writings of the Harlem Renaissance made their way around the world, people took note. Harlem was becoming a “mythic place,” says Reddick, the historian.

But it didn’t last. In October 1929, the Wall Street stock market crashed. That sent the global economy into a downward spiral that led to the Great Depression (1929-39). Jobs disappeared worldwide. Most of the money that supported book publishing, the arts, and entertainment in Harlem disappeared as well.

By the mid-1930s, the Harlem Renaissance was ending. Critics then and now question whether the movement really did anything to end the pervasive discrimination against Black people in American society, and whether it transformed the lives of ordinary Black Americans.

Yet something profound had occurred. Black people had created multiple forms of art and proudly claimed them as their own. Until then, most people in the U.S. hadn’t recognized or acknowledged the distinctive history and cultural influence of Americans whose ancestors had been enslaved, says Reddick. The books, art, and music of 1920s Harlem began to change that for good.

More important, the successes of the Harlem Renaissance showed Black Americans what they could achieve. As they fought for equal rights in the decades to come, this knowledge would help inspire and sustain them.

“The Harlem Renaissance was the first step in their seeing broader possibilities of joy and pride,” says Reddick. It created “a new identity of what was American.”

By the mid-1930s, the Harlem Renaissance was ending. Critics then and now question whether the movement really did anything to end the ongoing injustice Black people faced in American society. They also question whether it transformed the lives of ordinary Black Americans.

Yet something important had occurred. Black people had created multiple forms of art and proudly claimed them as their own. Until then, most people in the U.S. hadn’t known or accepted the distinctive history and cultural influence of Americans whose ancestors had been enslaved, says Reddick. The books, art, and music of 1920s Harlem began to change that for good.

More important, the successes of the Harlem Renaissance showed Black Americans what they could achieve. As they fought for equal rights in the decades to come, this knowledge would help inspire and sustain them.

“The Harlem Renaissance was the first step in their seeing broader possibilities of joy and pride,” says Reddick. It created “a new identity
of what was American.”