The Harlem Renaissance

The "Harlem Renaissance" was an intellectual, social, and artistic upheaval that occurred in the predominantly African American neighborhood of Harlem in New York City's borough of Manhattan during the 1920's. The period is considered to have been a time of rebirth for African American arts, with music, literature, and visual art all seeing significant achievements. It began during the Great Migration, when millions of African Americans fled Jim Crow-era states in the South for urban communities in the North. With a population of nearly 175,000 black residents, Harlem was the perfect place for this new cultural movement to take root. The people of Harlem were instrumental in creating some of the most defining activities in the arts between the 1910s and 1930s, in forms including fashion, dance, poetry, and music.

The Harlem Renaissance was not limited to New York City or the United States. Similar revivals occurred in Chicago and Los Angeles. Many African Americans, inspired by French music and culture, fled the US to live in Paris' arts district...

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