In this picture “Blues” (1928), Archibald Motley depicts the lifestyle that was found in many clubs during the Harlem Renaissance. The scene of vibrancy and enjoyment was in light of the celebration of black expression. During the 1920s, black Americans experienced a newfound public freedom of expression in the arts, particularly in music. Clubs were filled with young blacks that would indulge in dance, music, and alcohol. Figures such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Walt Whitman came to prominence. The period saw the development of the “New Negro” (Donnally). Reverend Reverdy C. Ransome’s poem, “The New Negro” (1923) describes this phenomenon:
…Rough hewn form the jungle and the desert’s sands,
Slavery was the chisel that fashioned him to form,
And gave him all the arts and sciences had won.
The lyncher, mob and stake have been his enemy wheel,
TO MAKE A POLISHED MAN of strength and power.
In him, the latest birth of freedom,
God hath again made all things new.
Europe and Asia with ebbing tides recede,
America’s unfinished arch of freedom waits,
Till he, the corner stone of strength
Is lifted into place and power.
Behold him! dauntless and unafraid he stands.
He comes with laden arms,
Bearing rich gifts to science, religion, poetry and song….
Slavery was the chisel that fashioned him to form,
And gave him all the arts and sciences had won.
The lyncher, mob and stake have been his enemy wheel,
TO MAKE A POLISHED MAN of strength and power.
In him, the latest birth of freedom,
God hath again made all things new.
Europe and Asia with ebbing tides recede,
America’s unfinished arch of freedom waits,
Till he, the corner stone of strength
Is lifted into place and power.
Behold him! dauntless and unafraid he stands.
He comes with laden arms,
Bearing rich gifts to science, religion, poetry and song….
The rise of jazz and black culture in the public sphere did not, however, elevate the social, political, and economic situation of black Americans. While they were allowed access to creating music for larger society to enjoy, blacks were still largely excluded in politics and economics. De facto segregation and the separate but equal paradigm along with Jim Crow relegated blacks into separate physical spheres from whites.
Works Cited
Donnally, Jennifer. The Roaring Twenties.
Jarrett, Gene Andrew. New Negro Politics. American Literary History, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Winter, 2006), pp. 836-846
Palmer, Roderick. Recollection of the Harlem Renaissance. The Educational Forum. Vol. 27, Iss. 2, 1963.
http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-272830
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/arts/motley.html