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The Harlem Renaissance
African-American literature, art, and music exploded with creativity in the Harlem section of New York during the 1920s. Artists and thinkers like poet Langston Hughes, activist and writer W.E.B. Du Bois, and painter Aaron Douglas began to explore their African roots. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time when blacks tried to change their situation, seeking greater equality and the same civil rights that whites enjoyed. In this book, readers learn how African Americans explored their rich cultural history and their identity in the ever-changing United States.
* Reviews *
During World War I, a regiment of African American soldiers fought in France while Jim Crow laws oppressed many black citizens back in the U.S. This volume from the America's Living History series opens with those soldiers' wartime experiences and their triumphant return, which heralded the Harlem Renaissance, a vigorous flowering of African American culture centered in Harlem during the 1920s. The opening pages create a valuable historical context for understanding the origins and spirit of the movement, and the chapters that follow provide a broad view of the topic, while spotlighting many notable individual writers, musicians, actors, and visual artists. Period photos and color reproductions of paintings illustrate the book, which uses attractive tan-and-mahogany-brown backgrounds for featured design elements. A time line, extensive chapter notes, a glossary, and lists of recommended books and Internet sites are appended to Worth's useful overview of this fascinating era., Booklist February 1, 2009
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Grades
5-6 IL
Grades
5-12+ GRL
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