Harlem Renaissance - Swing and Music

Harlem Renaissance & Music

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By: Jasmine Davies & Samuel Feldman

Background

• The Harlem Renaissance sparked the creation of jazz, swing and many other music types
• Many racial biases were broken as white musicians and black musicians wanted to play together despite the racial tensions, Often they would sneak each other into the different clubs to play.
• Many new African American musicians emerged and began to take the spot light.

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Jazz

Is a huge collection of music combined from different styles while adding new ideas. Many African Americans participated. Duke Ellington was famous for his playing of jazz as well as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie. Many others played jazz during the Harlem Renaissance while it was growing in popularity

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The most common type of jazz was Dixieland as well as Cool Jazz

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Swing

• Was developed during Harlem Renaissance and is compiled of a big drum section , Brass, and Woodwinds and sometimes string instruments.
• Saxophones, Clarinets, Trumpets, Drums most common
• Extremely influenced by African Americans and Jazz
• Swing dancing was created to go along with the music and was a new form of dancing

http://youtu.be/mHANNkKBSNU

Singing

• Many new singers became known and they joined jazz and swing groups to adapt to the new styles.

Al Jolson

Harry “Bing” Cosby

Frank Sinatra

Harlem Renaissance - Background

The Harlem Renaissance

By:

Lindsay Zeldenrust & Michelle Aguayo

The Beginning

• During the 1920’s and the 1930’s a new hunger for black cultural identity rose.

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• Provoked by the great migration of African Americans from the Southern to the Northern cities
• To look for employment opportunities available after World War I.

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• This time period was originally called the New Negro Movement.

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• Began with writers, artists and musicians seeking to express themselves in a world where it was thought that blacks were not capable of such works of art.

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Motto: Group Expression and Self Determination

• African-Americans in the US started to project their own thoughts through various media.
• Such as literature, music, art, and drama; primarily in New York City’s Harlem area.
• The migration of Blacks from South to North led to the coming together of ambitious and motivated people in places where they could support each other.
• * The North granted all adult men with the right to vote; provided better educational advancement for African-Americans and their children.
• African-Americans began to collect and form strong communities, their art and culture began to prosper.
• African-Americans began publishing impressive literature, large numbers of paintings and sculptures, and they contributed to music, drama, and dance.

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Pushing for Racial Equality

• The Harlem Renaissance created the first Black middle class in America
• W.E.B. Du Bois and a group of prominent African- American political activists founded the NAACP.
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to promote civil rights and fight disenfranchisement

THE AWAKENING of Innovation and liveliness

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• Overt racial pride

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• Plays that featured African-American actors dealing with complicated human daily life as colored people and their yearnings
• Poetry demonstrating defiance towards racism; pride in being colored
• - Portrayed the modern life of African-Americans with equality
• Music- Piano and Jazz

* helped blur the lines between the poor Negros and socially elite Negros

• Through intellect of art, music, and literature the new Negro could challenge racism and stereotypes to promote social integration as an uplift of race

Harlem Renaissance - Fashion

Renaissance clothing�1910-1930�

By: Rocio de la Rosa,

Itzel Montoya

• Was a cultural movement within the African American community
• Some of the most elaborate and dashing trends in fashion ever seen in the history of the U.S
• Gentlemen wore suits and women wore beautiful evening gowns and pearl jewelry

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Mens clothing

• African American men wore suits(made of varies materials like wool and Lenin)
• Suits were designed to make affirmative statements concerning the joy of living
• Most were tailored to fit individual/ most are similar to the ones wore today, while some were made with a tail
• Most outstanding one was the zoot suit
• Are known by their long suit jackets and baggy fitting pants
• Often used with a matching hat with a feather

Women's clothing

• Wore extravagant ball gowns and brilliant cocktail dresses
• Often sow their own dresses and add sparkling rhinestones and other decorations
• Wore silk gloves and high heeled shoes
• Were designed to express elegance, gracefulness and flamboyance
• Many of the dresses created had not been seen in American society
• Needed to be comfortable to make dancing comfortable

Fashion accessories

• Men would often wear pocket watches with a chain hanging out of their suit/they would add flare to the attire
• Also wore handkerchiefs in the pockets that matched the color of their suit
• Women wore pearl jewelry it was their signature accessories
• Some one wear a ring on top of their gloves in the evening
• Wore fur coats and beautiful shawls to compliment their clothing

Overall appeal

• This fashion period continued to influence many sectors of modern society
• Fashion trends could be seen in movies such as Malcolm x and Harlem nights
• Has been widely accepted and showcased by Americans in almost every sector in modern society.

Harlem Renaissance - Politics

Politics of the Harlem Renaissance

by Devin Johnson and Jack Engelson

The Peoples Impact

Because it took place in the north many African Americans could vote and did vote, therefore the politics were more influenced by African Americans and their wants and needs.

MArcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey

Founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association

Was elected by its council to be President of the association

Had a Black Nationalist philosophy and was a proponent of a black migration back to Africa.

Got deported and his influence declined.

W.E.D Dubios

W.E.B. Dubois

Was a leading black politician and philosopher during the Harlem Renaissance.

His views were in direct conflict of those of Garvey since Dubois favored integration and Garvey favored separation.

Effect on Today

Was one of the stepping stones into the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

Many writers from the Harlem Renaissance wrote in political magazines such as " the Crisis" and the " Opportunity ".

Showed much of America the idea of the " New Negro ".

Harlem Renaissance - Lifestyle

Harlem Renaissance - Artists

Harlem Renaissance - Religion

Harlem Renaissance - Effects on Modern Society

Harlem Renaissance: Effects on Modern Society

Amara and Nicole

• The Harlem Renaissance had a big impact on modern society.
• The artistic and political movements of the 20’s will live on in the form of :
• New musical expressions
• Award winning writing
• And the civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s

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• The Jazz and Blues clubs provided a forum for rising black entertainers and writers who wrote and performed to raise consciousness of the negro people and instill pride in their heritage.

• The Harlem Renaissance affected politics in two ways:
• Was one of the first times when whites collaborated with black intellectuals, social activists, educators, and artists in attempts to transform a largely segregated and racist American Society.
• The sense that African Americans saw themselves forming a politically and culturally distinct segment of the U.S population was forged during the this period.

• During the Harlem Renaissance writers and artists like Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington inspired others to write and produce music about African American society and life and to take pride in their heritage.