Famous Harlem Renaissance Artists Essay Example

Introduction

Harlem Renaissance was a significant period in the history of America. It marked an era in which African-Americans began to raise their voice regarding significant issues affecting their lives. During this period there was an outburst of creativity among African Americans following the sweeping mood of uprising movements of the time (Aguirre & Lempert, 2017). As such, the blacks turned to art, music, drama, painting, and literature as a means of praising their legacy and identity. For the first time, artistic works of Afro-Americans was taken seriously and appreciated on a national level. This golden period marked the turning point in the domains of African American art and literature. The pieces of artistic works generated during the Harlem Renaissance are incredibly worthy of respect because they lightened up the path for future generations to follow. There are many talented artists of the Harlem Renaissance whose hard work contributed to a lot of social changes. However, there are a few individuals whose impact lives on due to their influential works.

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Langston Hughes

He was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri and spent most of his childhood with the grandmother after his parents got divorced while he was still a young child. However, he was reunited with his mother at the age of thirteen when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois and it is where he began poetry writing. After finishing high school he held several odd jobs such as clearing tables at restaurants, assistant cook and launder. He also became a seaman and traveled to different continents such as Africa and Europe. Hughes later moved Washington, D.C in 1924and got his first book of poetry titled The Weary Blues published two years later by Alfred Knopf. In 1929, he graduated from Lincon University, Pennsylvania. The following year he received the Harmon gold medal for literature from his first novel, Not Without Laughter.

Growing up in the Jim Crow era, Hughes witnessed racial discrimination against his community. He became terrified of the racial inequalities faced by the Blacks and this influenced his poetic works dedicated to bringing change. During the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, Hughes became fond of jazz music thus manipulating his poem writing style towards music(Trotman, 2014). In 1930's his poem was influenced the Great Depression. Ideally, Hughes surrounding played a fundamental role in influencing his thoughts to reflect on his poetic works. Through his artistic expression, he was able to highlight critical issues affecting members of the society. Most of his poems talked about the social injustices faced by African Americans. For instance in his poem "I, Too Sing America", he expresses how blacks of that times were discriminated against when he writes, "I am the darker one / Sent away to eat in the kitchen/ When company comes." He further stresses the change to come when he writes, "They will see how pretty I am/ And be ashamed". People began to look up to his artistic expression for political awareness, leadership, and direction.

Hughes poems promoted and attracted the unity of the black community in America and across the globe. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance through his different styles. As such he has been nicknamed the laureate of the poem during the Harlem Renaissance. Until his death on May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes was recognized as one of the most noteworthy artists of the 20th century following the great impact his poetry had to the society. He led a private life thus little is known about his own family. He succumbed to complications from prostate cancer. He preferred his body cremated and his remains were placed beneath Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem entrance. In 1981, his house located on East 127th Street was acknowledged by the New York City Landmark status and added to the National Register of places one year later. Up to date, Hughes poems continue to be published.

William Edward Burghardt Du BoisHe is regarded as one of the fathers of the Harlem Renaissance. W.E.B Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, IN Great Barrington, Massachusetts. His parents intermarried which made him a "mulatto" as he often referred to himself. He spent most of his childhood in European American towns where he freely attended school with the whites. Being a bright student he was loved by white teachers who also supported his academic studies. At the age of seventeen, he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to join Fisk University. He had never experienced black discrimination before until he joined the university and for the first time he began to have serious thoughts about the Jim Crow laws and American racism.

He later joined Harvard University for a master's programme after graduating with a bachelors degree at Fisk. In 1895, Du Bois was the first Afro American to be awarded a Ph.D. from Havard University. His writing and activism career began in 1899 when he first published a landmark study of the black community titled -The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. In his study, he came up with the synonymous phrases "the talented tenth," which painted a picture of the possibility of one in ten African Americans becoming leaders of the black community. Du Bois became a famous figure after publicly opposing Booker Washington's agreement of the Atlanta Compromise which discriminated against blacks attaining higher education and ascending to power by emphasizing vocational education for blacks.

It was in 1903, that Du Bois published one of his most influential prophetic work titled the Souls of Black Folks. Among the fourteen collections of essays was a direct attack on Washington for failure to advocate for African American civil rights as stated in the 14th amendment clause. In 1905, he joined forces with William Monroe to form the Niagara Movement which aggressively fought for equal economic and educational opportunities for the black community. In 1909, he liaised with other civil rights movements to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The NAACP became vibrant and started its own magazine, Crisis which was mainly edited by Du Bois. Over time the magazine gained huge readership from African Americans and white sympathizers. By 1919 the magazine was selling numerous copies and Du Bois used it to campaign against the Jim Crow Laws. During the 1920s of the Harlem Renaissance Du Bois writings through the Crisis, magazine played a significant role in uniting Africans against white supremacists and sexual discrimination (Du Bois, 2014). His contribution united many African Americans and blacks all over the globe to stand firm against oppression by the whites.

In 1950 he was appointed the chairman of Peace Information Centre. He is also among the people who signed the Stockholm Peace Pledge which was against the use of nuclear weapons. At the age of 91, Du Bois renounced his American citizenship to settle in the land of his forefathers in Ghana, Africa. He died on 27th August 1963 and was accorded a state burial in Accra, Ghana.

Augusta Savage( 1892-1962)

Augusta Savage build herself as a civil rights activist, an educator, and a sculptor. Historically, she has been recorded to have gained artistic notoriety after an experience of sculpturing images of famous figures such as Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Dubois. Notably, during the great depression, savage played part in roles that were so significant and ended up assisting another struggling artist, she also raised many art students by teaching art being recognized for her good and her exemplary performance, she was commissioned to come up with a sculpture for the 1939 New York World's Fair. From her unique work, Savage is identified as one of the Harlem Renaissance's most famous and inspirational female artists.

Augusta started her work by making clay object when she was a child, however, the father was not pleased and he would beat her when he found out. Since he was religious, he believed that her sculpture was sinful practice. later, things changed and she sculptured virgin Mary's figure and when the father saw it, his mind changed and this made him regret some of his past actions. She was later motivated by the principal of her new school who could pay one dollar a day just to teach modeling during her senior year. As a result of consistency, Augusta latest work more detailed and bigger and amazing sculptures.

Considering one of the Augusta Savage big experience, it is important to note that through the efforts of W.E.B Du Bois, Savage was in the long run awarded a scholarship in the period 1925 so as to conduct her study in Italy. This was one of the life-changing moment for her since she ended up producing many small clay figures of individuals who were living in the city. One ended up as its famous art and it ended up to be among her best work. The art was amazing and it caught the eye of the leader of the National Urban League. Another great experience was that for her to earn money, she had to convince the local county fair superintendent of the local county fair. The cry was for George Currie to set up a booth so that he was to sell her animal sculptures. According to Currie, she was a great woman who had a lot of talent and this made Currie's friend to make arrangement for her on taking art classes at a tuition-free school in Cooper Union in New York.

As Harlem was transforming into a hub for African Americans during the early 1900's, it is important to note that Augusta Savage as one of the female African American writers started thriving during this period in the intellectually charged environment. During 1920's most of her work was out and they were receiving critical praise in the popular claim and mainstream literary circles in both black and white audiences(Bolin,Blandy, & Congdon,2000). During her period, some black's poet thrived since they were primarily based on traditional English literary forms, with others exploring the lyrical forms and the black vernacular speech while creating works which are identified with the African American masses. Basically, the ideals and the politics that was born from this period came as an inspiration for African Americans, even for years to come.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Harlem Renaissance remained to be a significant period in the history of America. It marked an era in which African-Americans began to raise their voice regarding significant issues affecting their lives

References

Aguirre, M., & Lempert, B. (2017). Characteristics of Negro Expression. Macat Library.

Trotman, C. J. (2014). Langston Hughes: the man, his art, and his continuing influence. Routledge.

Du Bois, W. E. B. (2014). The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States of America. Oxford University Press.

Bolin, P. E., Blandy, D. E., & Congdon, K. G. (Eds.). (2000). Remembering others: Making invisible histories of art education visible. National Art Education Association.