The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance

1. The Great Migration andthe Harlem Renaissance The Rebirth of a New Image

2. 1. Living in the South • Life in the South was very difficult for African Americans • The KKK kept Blacks afraid to speak up for their newly given rights as citizens – voting was key • Jim Crow reduced Blacks to second class citizens in society • Few white business owners were willing to hire African Americans • Blacks wanted more opportunities • But the South refused to change

3. 2. The Great Migration • Because of Jim Crow, Segregation, and the KKK, thousands of Blacks looked to move out of the South • Many believed northern cities would offer better opportunities/treatment • From 1910-1930, over 2 million southern Blacks moved to the North, Midwest, and West to find a better life – a.k.a. Great Migration • Migrate – to move within a country or region • Life outside of the South was still difficult • While legal segregation in public did not exist, prejudice and discrimination did • Blacks still found it hard to get jobs despite industrialization • They competed with new immigrants as cheap labor – usually lost out • Blacks were not allowed to live in certain neighborhoods • Most ended up in inner cities as whites moved to the suburbs

4. 3. Life in the North Improves • World War I reduced immigration in America to very low levels • As American factories sent supplies and weapons to its Allies in Europe, more workers were needed to increase production • Also many factory workers went to fight in Europe, leaving many openings for new employees • Business owners couldn’t rely on European immigrants to fill those spots • More and more Blacks were hired in various factories and companies • The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP – early civil rights group) supported Blacks in fighting for better wages and treatment • Started by W.E.B. DuBois (and others), the NAACP was an organization that fought for Black rights – still exists today • Life in the North, although not perfect, began to improve for Blacks

5. 4. Image of Blacks Before the Harlem Renaissance • For most people in America, the image of Blacks was limited and based on prejudice • Most people saw Blacks in America as former slaves with a rural background • Also uneducated and best suited for physical labor • This image of Blacks, although not true, limited Blacks opportunities in both employment and education • Many Whites could not see Blacks as anything other than these existing images • During this time, Black culture in the North not only expanded but it changed their image too • This change in the image of Blacks was thanks in large part to the Harlem Renaissance

6. 5.The Harlem Renaissance • Harlem is a neighborhood in New York City – where the cultural explosion first occurred • Eventually impacted other large cities throughout the country • Black culture rejected traditional European culture and developed their own form of art and entertainment • Blacks explored their new culture which emerged from combining slave culture and Black culture from Africa • This was known as the Harlem Renaissance • It created a sense of self-identity separate than the way Whites viewed Blacks • A new sense of pride about being Black in America grew

7. 6. The New Negro Image • The Harlem Renaissance began to change northern White’s views of Blacks – developed into the New Negro • Art, music, dance, literature, and political leadership also helped to create and refine that image over time • Artists created paintings that showed Blacks as intelligent, diverse people • Music lyrics provided strength and a rallying cry for Blacks across America • Authors wrote books to educate Blacks on their cultural background – not only as children of slavery but also their ancestor’s lives in Africa • DuBois and Booker T. Washington became political leaders working towards improvements for Blacks in society – had differing opinions • Many historians agree that the Harlem Renaissance paved the way for Blacks in the North to press for more change during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s