Full transcript
0:00New York, 1918.
0:02It was called the Great Migration. The
0:04degradation, discrimination, and
0:06agricultural servitude of their lives in
0:08the American South spurred
0:10African-Americans to search for better
0:12opportunities in the northern states.
0:14They went by the thousands. While some
0:16of these migrants landed in bustling
0:17cities like Chicago and Detroit, a great
0:20many of them found a home in Harlem, New
0:22York. And while most settled into a
0:24slightly improved life, they also
0:26brought something that changed the
0:27landscape and demographics of the
0:29previously white-dominated part of the
0:31metropolis. Art. Art that would serve as
0:34a catalyst for a cultural explosion.
0:36From cool jazz that redefined American
0:38music to provocative sculptures and
0:40paintings to soulful film, literature,
0:42and poetry deeper than the Hudson River.
0:44And all of it speaking to
0:45African-American life and experiences.
0:48Originally known as the New Negro
0:49Movement, this profound moment in
0:51history would not only redefine the
0:53perception of American blacks, it would
0:55shape their own identity. For there was
0:57to be a renaissance in Harlem.
1:06As we continue to educate ourselves on
1:08black history in America, we urge you to
1:10join us in supporting highly important
1:11institutions such as this week's
1:13organization, the Schomburg Center for
1:15Research in Black Culture, which for 95
1:17years has preserved, protected, and
1:19fostered a greater understanding of the
1:21black experience through its
1:22collections, programs, and scholarships.
1:24You can learn more and donate via the
1:26link in the description below.
1:28In order for any renaissance to come
1:29about, you need a specific set of
1:31ingredients. The first one is pretty
1:33self-explanatory. You need artists. And
1:36thanks to the aforementioned migration,
1:38black artists came to Harlem in droves.
1:40Though it should be noted that many from
1:42the Afro-Caribbean community also took
1:44their chances in making their way to
1:45this city looking for better prospects
1:47and patrons. The second ingredient is a
1:50guiding force to channel and direct all
1:52this creative energy. And that was
1:53especially crucial with this particular
1:55movement, since it was seen by black
1:57intellectuals as a way to smash
1:59stereotypes and do away with the image
2:01of the African-American as only good for
2:03manual labor and menial work. The man
2:06who stepped in to fill that role was
2:07scholar and civil rights activist W.E.B.
2:10Du Bois, who at that time served as the
2:12editor of the NAACP monthly magazine,
2:15The Crisis. Du Bois resolved to use the
2:17publication as a staging point for the
2:19movement, an idea he articulated by
2:21publishing a sort of manifesto on black
2:23theater. It was expected to be, as he
2:25said, about us, by us, for us, and near
2:28us. He also founded the organization
2:31Krigwa, a loose acronym for Crisis Guild
2:33of Writers and Artists, and sponsored a
2:35playwriting contest for scripts about
2:37the black experience. The hope was to
2:39broaden the types of stories told about
2:41African-Americans on the stage, since
2:43that was one of the few types of mass
2:45entertainment where black people could
2:46control their own narratives. "You do
2:48not have to confine your writings to the
2:50portrayal of beggars, scoundrels, and
2:52prostitutes," the contest rules
2:53instructed. "You can write about
2:55ordinary decent colored people if you
2:57want." As a result of this prodding from
2:59civil rights leaders and theater
3:01critics, a host of plays produced at
3:02this time included a complex reflection
3:05of real African-American life. In fact,
3:07as time went on, not only did more
3:09all-black theater companies form, but
3:11they even began overshadowing New York's
3:13mainstream white playwrights. Seeing
3:15this success, other literary
3:16organizations sponsored their own prizes
3:18for fiction and poetry. Zora Neale
3:20Hurston got her break winning the
3:22Opportunity Literary Journal contest and
3:25eventually became a staple of the
3:26movement. And poet Langston Hughes was
3:28first published and promoted in Du
3:30Bois's The Crisis. Both breathtakingly
3:32prolific writers who produced crucial
3:34works, Hurston and Hughes would be
3:36included in the New Negro Movement
3:38Anthology curated by the country's first
3:40black Rhodes Scholar, Alain Locke. Other
3:43influencers in the scene were quite
3:44different, such as William Elmer Harmon,
3:47a wealthy white real estate developer
3:49who created the Harmon Foundation in
3:511922. Originally, the foundation focused
3:54on building playgrounds and creating
3:56nursing programs to assist lesser-served
3:58neighborhoods across the country, but it
3:59would soon be known for providing a
4:01platform for black painters and
4:03sculptors to showcase their unseen
4:05works. While at the time, many whites
4:07fraternizing with blacks were suspected
4:09of trying to recruit African-Americans
4:10to the socialist cause, Harmon was
4:13clearly a stone-cold capitalist. While
4:15not a champion for equality, Harmon knew
4:18that helping African-Americans make
4:19economic gains was better for the
4:21country as a whole. So, his foundation
4:23set up local exhibits and national tours
4:26and established the Harmon Award for
4:27distinguished achievement among Negroes.
4:30Winners in the eight categories, which
4:31included both music and fine arts,
4:33received a medal and $400. While the
4:36Harmon Foundation threw its support
4:38behind raw talent, prominent individuals
4:40like Du Bois and Locke believed that
4:42black Americans should create
4:43African-influenced art as a way to
4:45uplift the race. Locke, noting that
4:48European superstars like Picasso and
4:50Matisse were themselves delving into
4:52African-influenced imagery, firmly
4:54believed that art from black people
4:55should look different than that of
4:56whites. It was a concept that met with
4:59some controversy in the movement.
5:00Painters like William Edward Scott
5:02beautifully captured African-American
5:04and Haitian subjects, but were
5:05considered too conservative and
5:07traditionally European in form. And
5:09while Scott would go on to win a Harmon
5:11Award and etch out a career in Paris,
5:13his work was often passed over by Locke
5:15and other influential thinkers. And this
5:17debate over the aesthetic and long-term
5:19goals of black artistry would take on
5:21different forms within the arenas of
5:23cinema and music. Oscar Micheaux,
5:25regarded as the most successful black
5:27director and independent movie producer
5:29of the first half of the 20th century,
5:31told the exact stories that the black
5:33elites of the Renaissance were looking
5:34for. With some of his movies set in the
5:37black Mecca of Harlem, his 44 films met
5:39both critical and commercial success.
5:41His characters were not the shucksters
5:43and mammies found in white-dominated
5:45films, and there were no white actors in
5:47blackface. They stood tall, spoke
5:50clearly, and had poise, dignity, and
5:52agency in films like Within Our Gates
5:54and Murder in Harlem. Plus, he didn't
5:56shy away from social commentary or
5:58tackling complex issues like passing for
6:01white or lynching. With his work
6:03providing a rebuttal to the critically
6:04acclaimed, yet abhorrently racist film
6:07The Birth of a Nation, which glorified
6:09the Ku Klux Klan. But while black elites
6:11embraced Micheaux, there was still some
6:13trepidation in regards to jazz and the
6:16blues, much of which had been brought up
6:17from the south. In the long run,
6:19however, the music proved too infectious
6:21to fight, and jazz and the big band
6:23sound permeated the consciousness of
6:25Harlem, then the entire country. And
6:27with that came the much-needed third
6:29ingredient for the Harlem Renaissance,
6:31patrons. As word of Harlem's nightlife
6:34spread, it enticed many whites to come
6:36out in droves and see a show or two. And
6:38not just in the well-heeled spots like
6:40the legendary Cotton Club that catered
6:41to white clientele. The smaller
6:43nightclubs and cabarets also found
6:45themselves packed. Excited whites would
6:47socialize, dance, and drink in the same
6:49establishments as black patrons and
6:51performers till all hours of the night,
6:54which at this time was still illegal in
6:55other parts of the country. But by
6:57becoming the ultimate perveyors of cool,
7:00musicians like Duke Ellington, Cab
7:02Calloway, and Louis Armstrong, and
7:04phenomenal singers like Bessie Smith and
7:06Lena Horne, Harlem managed to create an
7:08oasis free from some of those
7:09restrictive social norms. Yet despite
7:12the many positive things that came out
7:14of the Renaissance, some historians
7:15remain critical of the movement,
7:17accusing Du Bois, Locke, and members of
7:19the black bourgeoisie of manufacturing
7:21the Renaissance in order to use
7:23African-American art as a propaganda
7:25tool. They also point out that while
7:26many of the Harmon exhibits did bring in
7:28crowds, the sales that were supposed to
7:30provide a better life for many of their
7:32award-winning painters and sculptors
7:34never materialized. In fact, many of
7:36them were forced to move to Europe or
7:37retreat back to their unfulfilling day
7:39jobs. Like many artists, they wouldn't
7:41be celebrated until they were dead. But
7:44though that may be accurate, it's also
7:46true that many perceptions, stereotypes,
7:49and false narratives about
7:50African-Americans were debunked during
7:52this extraordinary time period. And
7:54before the Great Depression put an end
7:56to this eruption of black culture, the
7:57people of Harlem knew that they hadn't
7:59just migrated and settled a city to
8:01solely escape Jim Crow. Despite the
8:04struggles, hardships, and everything
8:06stacked against them by society, they
8:08found their artistic voice and made
8:10their dreams come true and had, if only
8:12for a while, become all they knew they
8:14could be.
8:15Now we know that we've only scratched
8:17the surface of the Harlem Renaissance
8:18with this episode, but we do hope it
8:20serves as an inspiration for you to seek
8:22out and learn more about these and other
8:24amazing artists of the movement. Because
8:26while much of their work influenced the
8:28American theater, literature, music, and
8:30film we all enjoy today, the stories of
8:33their lives during this extraordinary
8:34time can also serve as an inspiration
8:37for new generations of artists to share
8:39their own voices. See you next time,
8:41everyone.
8:43Legendary patron roll call. Ahmed Ziad
8:45Turk, Alicia Bramble, Casey Muscha,
8:47Dominic Valenciana, Gunnar Clovis, Kyle
8:49Murgatroyd, and Orioles 1. Thank you so
8:52much.