Nicole M. Smith

Dr. Warner

English 112B

December 5, 2007

Singing the Blues:

Innovators and Revolutionaries of the Harlem Renaissance

“Tomorrow/ I’ll be at the table/ When the company comes,” is announced as the speaker of Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, too, Sing America” proclaims that the “darker brother” will soon be seen as an American. “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly, pack/ Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back” are the last two lines of Claude McKay’s powerful “If We Must Die.” In both poems, the speakers proclaim they will no longer be subject to oppression, but rather they will fight back, even until death. Hughes and McKay, literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance, are perhaps the most widely read African American poets. Hughes and McKay, along with several other writers, artists, and musicians, were members of the Harlem Renaissance—a cultural movement in the 1920s and early 1930s among the African Americans which ushered in an explosion of literature, art, and music.

Most of the works created during the Harlem Renaissance were social commentaries on the racial tensions which existed, and still exist, in America. The productions of that time (literature, art, and music) were inspired by the feeling of being “colored” in a beige world. Other works, in the case of Jean Toomer, were created because of a personal identity struggle which could only be worked through with some sort of artistic expression. From identity struggle and the fight to resist oppression, fantastic works from African Americans were created and they flourished to become part of the face of American Literature.

Seeing as many of the works of the Harlem Renaissance dealt with personal struggle and racial identity, reading the biographies of these artists may help young adults understand the artistry of the Harlem Renaissance. As in the case of the writers or painters who had identity struggles, it is good to see what from their background created the struggles. Many of the biographies discuss the inspiration each Renaissance member had. Also, most of the biographies detail the reaction each artist had to the growing popularity of the movement. Some of the revolutionaries reacted negatively and some reacted positively, while others disappeared entirely from the scene. What caused these reactions and disappearances? And if writing, art or music of an individual changed in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, what caused the sudden change?

Answers to many questions about the artists of the Harlem Renaissance can be found in their biographies. Also, the biographies give insight and some analysis of the works, helping the young adult focus on the actual artistry as well as the creator behind it. Ultimately, the biographies grant historical information of the Harlem Renaissance, while looking at what inspired the revolutionaries of the movement.

Cooper, Wayne F. Claude McKay: Rebel Sojourner in the Harlem Renaissance. Baton Rouge,

LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1987

Wayne F. Cooper’s biography of Claude McKay chronicles McKay’s life from a twenty-two year old McKay leaving Jamaica, to his death in 1948. McKay never returned to Jamaica, and he won large audiences with his work in the United States and Europe. McKay was a novelist and a poet, and much of his work was a reaction to discrimination and social constraints he both experienced and witnessed. In the biography, Cooper emphasizes the importance of McKay’s involvement in the Harlem Renaissance. McKay’s protest poetry post World War I ushered in the decade of the Harlem Renaissance, paving way for black literature and art. McKay’s biography is an essential text to better understand the Harlem Renaissance. Seeing as much of his poetry is autobiographical, reading his biography helps define the context of his work. McKay writes about the conflicts of his time just as those whom he inspired. Understanding McKay’s inspiration and literary work can lead to understanding other literary artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

Davis, Thadious M. Nella Larsen: Novelist of the Harlem Renaissance. Baton Rogue, LA:

Louisiana State University Press, 1994.

Thadious Davis’ biography about Nella Larsen claims that Larsen is among the top women writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Although Larsen did not do much writing in the latter part of her life, both of her novels remain as powerful works of African American literature. The following is an editorial review from Amazon.com further describing Larsen’s life as explained by Davis’ biography:

Davis, a professor of English at Brown University ( Faulkner's "Negro" Art ), rescues an African American writer from neglect in an outstanding, masterfully researched study that also provides a vivid picture of life in Harlem during the 1920s. Larsen (1891-1964), the daughter of a white mother and a black father, was initially raised as white by her mother and stepfather, then was sent to live and study at black schools. She married Elmer Imes, an African American physicist, and the two socialized with the Harlem Renaissance authors who were to inspire Larsen to write. Acclaimed for her novels, Quicksand and Passing , which dealt with women from racially mixed backgrounds, Larsen was later accused of plagiarizing a short story. After her marriage ended in divorce, she stopped writing and spent the rest of her life in obscurity, working as a nurse. Davis theorizes that Larsen's painful childhood caused her to continually reinvent herself and shroud herself in mystery (www.amazon.com). Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Encyclopedia of World Biography Web. 1 December 2007. http://notablebiographies.com.html

Alain Locke, along with W.E.B. Du Bois, was the proprietor and main organizer of the Harlem Renaissance. Even though Locke was such an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance I could not find any biographies on him, except internet based. This was definitely surprising. There is a lot of analysis of his philosophy, but biographies are hard to locate. The website www.notablebiographies.com seems to provide a good biography of Alain Locke. The website, titled Encyclopedia of World Biography, looks at Locke’s early childhood, his work as an educator, and his cultural influences. The website also provides a bibliography and additional works that mention Locke’s philosophy. Here is a passage from the website describing Locke’s importance in the Harlem Renaissance:

During these years Locke was a major contributor to Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life and Survey Graphic. He edited a special issue of the latter publication devoted to the Harlem Renaissance, the flourishing of African American art, literature, and music in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. Locke became the leading authority on modern African American culture and used his position to promote the careers of young artists. He encouraged them to seek out subjects in African American life and to set high artistic standards for themselves (www.notablebiographies.com). This website should definitely be consulted for a biography about Alain Locke. The Encyclopedia of the World Biography also has biographies of several of the other writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

Hasse, John Edward. Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington. New York: Da

Capo Press, 1993.

Duke Ellington was a musician and a composer during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. Ellington composed musical scores that were used in movies and plays written during the era of the Harlem Renaissance. Ellington’s music gained him respect by both the both Caucasians and African Americans. Hasse’s biography shows that Ellington’s love for music and his perseverance helped Ellington break down racial barriers. The following is a summary from Amazon.com about Hasse’s Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington:

One of the 20th century's greatest composers, Duke Ellington (1899-1974) led a fascinating life. The first biography to draw on the vast Duke Ellington archives at the Smithsonian Institution, this book recounts the entirety of his remarkable career: his childhood in Washington, D.C. and musical apprenticeship in Harlem; his long engagement at the glamorous, gangster-owned Cotton Club; the challenging years during the Depression; his tours to Europe and into America's deep South, where he helped lower racial barriers; the postwar years when television and bebop threatened to eclipse the big bands; Ellington's own triumphant comeback at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival; his collaborations with Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Hodges, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Coltrane, among others; and of course, the music itself, five decades of hits and masterpieces that constantly broke new ground (www.Amazon.com). This biography is a good contribution to the annotated bibliography because it offers at look at the lives of musicians during the Harlem Renaissance. It also examines Ellington’s inspiration for his musical scores while providing facts about his early life, his career during the Harlem Renaissance and the several accolades he received throughout his career.

Hemenway, Robert E. Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography. Chicago, IL: Universityof

Illinois Press, 1977.

Hemenway’s biography of Zora Neal Hurston has received praise naming it “The best biography about Zora Neale Hurston.” Hemenway notes Hurston’s immense contribution to the Harlem Renaissance and American literature when he writes, “Her part in the Renaissance is well documented in the reminiscences of others, with unanimous agreement that she was one of the most memorable personages of the period” (36). Hemenway analyzes Hurston’s lack of information about the Harlem Renaissance in her autobiography. The biography also contains pictures, an extensive bibliography, and some analysis of Hurston’s works. The biography discusses Hurston’s involvement and relationships with the other artists of the Harlem Renaissance. This biography offers a clear view of Hurston’s impression of the Harlem Renaissance. Hemenway informs readers that Hurston wanted to write a novel rather than a social commentary, which is what was expected by W.E.B. Du Bois and Alain Locke. This biography is extremely helpful to understanding the reactions the artists of the Renaissance had to the movement. Not only does it give insight to Hurston’s texts and personal beliefs, but it also brings attention to the motivation for Du Bois and Locke, the pioneers of the Harlem Renaissance.

Kerman, Cynthia Earl, and Richard Eldridge. The Lives of Jean Toomer: A Hunger for

Wholeness. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1987.

Cynthia Kerman and Richard Eldridge’s biography of Jean Toomer looks at Toomer’s search to be considered human, instead of one particular ethnicity. The authors state that Toomer’s writings were inspired by his life experiences. Toomer witnessed the alienation of people because of race and these observations led him to write Cane. Kerman and Eldridge inform readers that Toomer was of mixed raced and his writing was also an attempt to discover his African-American culture. The biography discusses Toomer’s involvement in the Harlem Renaissance as one that eventually led to his unhappiness. He was thought of as one of the originators of the Harlem Renaissance, but he slowly distanced himself from it; he did this because his peers, such as Alain Locke, wanted him to emphasize his “blackness.” This source helps me see the negative aspects of the Harlem Renaissance, which are rarely mentioned. Locke and DuBois tried pressuring Toomer into calling himself strictly African American. Toomer, who had been struggling with racial identity, did not like this pressure and preferred to be called the human race instead of white or black. This definitely helps me understand Toomer’s short yet powerful contribution to the Harlem Renaissance. The biography also discusses the experience of other writers in the Harlem Renaissance; this gives a good focus of the topic of the artistic explosion in Harlem.

Levy, Eugene. James Weldon Johnson: Black Leader, Black Voice. Ed. John Hope Franklin.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.

Eugene Levy writes about James Weldon Johnson’s continuous work to help the African American community. Johnson was a strong voice in the community and became the first black man to lead a civil rights organization to fight against the legislation of congress. In this fight against legislation, Johnson tried to convince congress to pass the Dyer anti-lynching bill. Levy points out that although Johnson was the secretary of the NAACP and a force behind the anti-lynching movement, he was greatly known by Americans because of his collections of poems, God’s Trombones. Levy’s biography lets readers know that Johnson was not only a novelist and poet, but he was also a political activist. The Harlem Renaissance shows that people of “color” are able to express themselves even if the racists believed they could not. Johnson introduced a lot of African American poetry to the United States when he published two anthologies of poetry and a collection of spirituals. Johnson fought for the advancement of the minority, while inspiring and publishing the poetry that became part of the artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. Because Johnson was involved in both the literary and political movements of the Harlem Renaissance, his biography offers information to multiple sides of the Renaissance. This certainly provides a great understanding of the NAACP, the anti-lynching bill, and the literature of the Harlem Renaissance.

Meltzer, Milton. Langston Hughes: An Illustrated Edition. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press,

1997.

Langston Hughes’ poetry is perhaps the mostly wide read and canonized of all of the writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Milton Meltzer informs readers that Hughes devoted his writing to the topic of the black experience in America. To write the biography, Meltzer got help from people Hughes knew, he read newspapers and periodicals, and he even received material from Langston Hughes himself. Meltzer introduces Hughes’ childhood, where he describes Hughes’ earliest attempts at writing poetry was inspired by the blues. Meltzer takes readers through the several stages of Hughes’ life, and the writing processes Hughes followed in those stages. The biography is centered around Hughes’ writing in the Harlem Renaissance, which revolutionized the writing world for African Americans. His poetry voices the condition of the African American people, and Meltzer is sure to declare Hughes’ importance in the Harlem Renaissance. This is an excellent source for Hughes’s biography because it not only emphasizes the importance of Hughes’ work in the Harlem Renaissance, but it also stresses the importance of Hughes’ work in all American communities. Hughes’ work exposes the experience of the African American people. Meltzer’s biography offers a look at Hughes’ work as well as the community that inspired it. This gives a better sense of the history of the Harlem Renaissance and the struggles Hughes’ and other African American writers had to face to solely be acknowledged in the United Sates.

Murray, Albert. Good Morning Blues. New York: Random House, 1985.

The Harlem Renaissance was a movement of African American writers, artists, and musicians. Because musicians were part of creating culture in the Renaissance, I found it necessary to include Count Basie’s biography. Count Basie was a jazz and blues musician whose music was part of the swing dance revolution. He played at the same theatres and clubs as Louis Armstrong, another musician who music was essential to the Harlem Renaissance. I have provided an editorial review from Amazon.com of Good Morning Blues to give a more succinct summary of the biography:

Murray compiled this biography from conversations with Basie, who died in 1984. Basie is the narrator looking back at his first jobs playing piano in Red Bank, New Jersey; his performances with Bennie Moten's Orchestra in Kansas City; and his fame as a big band leader from the Thirties to the Eighties. Basie's entertaining memories of his early days of performing in movie theaters and sleeping in pool halls give a more colorful picture of life as a musician in the Thirties than would a conventional history or biography. His chronicle of later years of successful worldwide performances seems commonplace in comparison. Basie laughs at his own motives and foibles and reasonably and modestly assesses his talent in a colloquial style that makes this appealing portrait a valuable record of a personality and an age. William Brockman, Drew Univ. Lib., Madison, N.J.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc (www. Amazon.com).

Powell, Richard J. and Martin Puryear. Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson.

New York: Rizzoli, 1991.

Although the Harlem Renaissance was primarily a literary movement, art was also an important part of the movement. The leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance were Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, and William H. Johnson. In the biography of William H. Johnson, Richard Powell informs readers that Johnson, like other revolutionaries of the Harlem Renaissance, migrated from the farm to the city. Johnson moved to Harlem for opportunity he believed did not exist in his hometown of Florence, South Carolina. Johnson’s artwork was criticized for looking “too European,” forcing Johnson to defend his work. Powell discusses Johnson’s change from French inspired paintings to more “primitive” paintings, drawings, and ceramics. The late 1940s brought on a dismal and troubling time in Johnson’s life as he traveled around Denmark as a vagabond. Powell ends the biography by claiming that Johnson’s importance to the development of modernism can not be ignored. The biography of Johnson is key to understanding the art of William Johnson and several of the Harlem Renaissance artists. Powell’s text is well accompanied by Johnson’s art, providing a look at his art instead of mere description. Readers are able to see what Johnson’s pain and emotion created.

Rampersad, Arnold. The Art and Imagination of W.E.B. DuBois. New York: Schocken Books,

1976.

W.E.B. DuBois’ writing and his position as the editor of The Crisis, the monthly magazine of the NAACP, was important to the Harlem Renaissance. Arnold Rampersad, informs readers that DuBois’ studies led him three careers. DuBois worked as a historian, a novelist and poet, and a propagandist. Rampersad discusses DuBois’ writing contributions to the Harlem Renaissance. According to the author, DuBois’ major contribution to the Harlem Renaissance was Dark Princess, in which DuBois attempts to fix social situations. Rampersad claims that although Dark Princess was important to the Harlem Renaissance, DuBois’ magazine was the most crucial to maintaining the exposure of African American Literature. From Rampersad’s text, I learned that although DuBois did not have a lot of literary work to offer to the Harlem Renaissance, he was a top figure of the Renaissance. Because of his ability to publish literature, he was able to help serve as an outlet for poetry and literature for African Americans. Before reading this biography, I did not know DuBois’ importance to the Harlem Renaissance. I had continuously heard his name but never realized the impact he had on African American literature. I also learned the places African American writers could turn to when Anglo publishers refused them.

Travis, Dempsey J. The Louis Armstrong Odyssey: From Jane Alley to America’s Jazz

Ambassador. Chicago, IL: Urban Research Press, Inc., 1997

Dempsey J. Travis’ biography about Louis Armstrong follows Armstrong’s life from his birth in a shanty to America’s beloved Jazz trumpeter. The biography has a few chapters about Armstrong’s poor childhood; the biography truly focuses on Armstrong’s success. Armstrong first revealed his jazz talent at the Lincoln Gardens, he lived in boarding house, and then made the move to New York City. Travis informs readers that Armstrong was introduced to Harlem just in time for the Harlem Renaissance. Travis’ biography seems to have some fictional detail which makes me question some passages. Overall, the book gives a lot of historical facts and information about jazz artists. The Harlem Renaissance is mentioned but there is never complete focus. Armstrong, although not a writer, was an important part of the Harlem Renaissance because of his ability to show that music and art was good for the soul. His music reached across cultures and broke down color barriers in theatres. Armstrong’s music not only was part of the Harlem Renaissance but it later became a backdrop for the civil rights movement.