THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE by K. Evans

The Harlem Renaissance emerged amid social and intellecual upheavel in the African American community in the early 20th century. Black Americans migrated north to take advantage of employment opportunties created by World War I. As more an more educated and socially conscious blacks settled in New York' s Harlem neighborhoods, it developed into the political and cultural center of black America. African American literature and arts had begun a steady development ing performing arts and black musical theater. Jazz and blues from the South began filling bars and cabarets of Harlem. Writer began to tell the stories of racial identity.
The National Urban League founded in 1910 to help blacks address the economc and social problems they encountered as they resettled in the North recognized the new talent and introduced new young writers. A strong sense of racial pride and desire for social and political equality emerged. African American musicians and other performers played to mixed audiences seeking the night life. The literature appealed to middle class blacks and to the white book buying public. Artists adopted 'primitive' and African images in paintings and illustrations. The Harlem Renaissance changed forever the dynamics of African American arts and literature and proof that the white race did not hold a monopoly on literature and culture.