Harlem Renaissance In The1920s: Search For Black American Identiy

Harlem Renaissance is a significant literary and cultural movement in blackAmerican history. It is also a profound reflection of cultural and racial consciousnessof black Americans and a struggle for their integration into the mainstream Americanculture. It helped build public image of blacks and in deepening black Americans’understanding of self-image. As a watershed in black American cultural history,Harlem renaissance has profound implications for black Americans’ search foridentity.This thesis, building on existing scholarship on Harlem Renaissance, aims toinquire into the historical implications of Harlem Renaissance. It examines the originsof Harlem Renaissance in American history, including Black Nationalist movement inthe1920s, the Great Migration, the New Negroes and black intellectuals. The paperexplores the manifestations of Harlem Renaissance, including black literature, visualarts and rewriting of black American history. It further examines black people’sattempts to search for a black American identity in their protests against racialdiscrimination, adherence to American identity and struggles for racial integration.Finally, implications of Harlem Renaissance are explored in the context of blackAmerican history.