Literature During The Harlem Renaissance

The most powerful feeling in the world was when the African Americans were freed from slavery, but the first time they felt that empowerment and respect was during The Harlem Renaissance. The Renaissance let African Americans speak their mind freely without getting punished by their “master” or getting jump by strangers because of their skin color. The Renaissance was their first real step to freedom after being freed from the South. Everyone knows The Harlem Renaissance for the jazz, the poetry, the art, or the music but The Harlem Renaissance did more than that. The Harlem Renaissance finally gave the African Americans a voice; they were finally able to show that they have individuality. The Literature in the Harlem Renaissance Era had…show more content…
The literature is one of the reasons why the white Americans starting working together with African Americans and believing that African Americans were not stupid. The reason why literature left a lasting influence and the biggest impact was because the poetry, the novels, everything came from real souls; it was all that was left of them. Langston Hughes was the man who did it all, who impacted everyone. He was known as a poet but he wrote and staged dozens of short stories, about a dozen books for children, a history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP), two volumes of autobiography, opera libretti, and song lyrics and so on (Smith). He is usually considered to be one of the most prolific and most-recognized black poets of the Harlem Renaissance. He broke through barriers that very few black artists had done before this period. Another important person was Claude McKay; he was involved with political and literary radicals. He was a journalist for The Steven Arts, and Liberator. He is most famous for his authentic to the black culture when he wrote his poems (Hill). Lastly W.E.B Du Bois was amongst Langston Hughes as he also was a major voice during The Renaissance. “The problem with the 20th century is the problem of the color-line – the relation of the darker races to the lighter races of men…” said by Du Bois, and this…show more content…
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