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Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was was issued by President Lincoln. It said that all slaves in the union states would now be free. Since the Union did not recognize Lincoln as president the emancipation was more of a symbol. It had a big impact in that was that it got Americans thinking about abolishing slavery. This lead to the Harlem Renaissance because it helped people want to find an end to slavery and to free all the slaves. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African Americans the right to vote, own land of former owners and look for their own jobs. They were allowed to use public accommodations. It was the first Federal law that defined all citizens as equally protected. Many people opposed this act and began to discriminate against the blacks. The discrimination lead the African Americans to migrate North looking for more freedoms. These laws caused people to start to fight for equal representation. -
Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow laws were laws that segregated every aspect of life. There were different bathrooms, schools and parks. Under these laws most African Americans were denied the right to vote because they had to take a literary test which most of them failed. According to the law the African Americans were "separate but equal". This was not the case because the areas that they were allowed to be in were in disrepair. These laws encouraged people to move North where they would not be separated. -
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded
The NAACP is founded to help African Americans get the rights they deserve. It works for the abolition of segregation and discrimination in all parts of life. It was the first time that African Americans and whites worked together to end segregation. The main goal of the NAACP was to stop the violence against African Americans. This lead to the Harlem Renaissance because now a group of whites wanted to end segregation. This led to people uniting and fighting for black equality. -
World War I
The start of World War I caused many jobs in the North to open up. The African American sharecroppers, being unhappy because of their debt, moved North to take the open jobs. With the need for soldiers, many African Americans stepped up and fought. Their dedication to their country led to them getting more rights. This impacted the Harlem Renaissance because it lead to them getting more rights and to start to become equals in society. -
The Great Migration
The Great Migration was a time when 6 million African Americans came to the North and West from the South. Most of them moved because of hate groups and hate crimes and because most were tired of the debt that came as a result of sharecropping. Many blacks were tempted by Northerners to move to the North and many of them settled in Harlem. Without the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance would never had occurred. -
Jazz Music
Harlem started a culture movement that was kicked off by jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and King Oliver who were very popular jazz musicians during this time. Jazz was the music that the Southerners brought North with them and it was a way that they kept their culture. This led to the Harlem Renaissance because it helped to lead to the acceptance of their culture. It united African Americans and Whites through a common love for jazz. -
Roaring Twenties
This was a time period in which African American art, literature and music blossomed, it had large society and cultural influences. Women started to assert independence and wanted to be treated the same as men. This era became known as "The Jazz Age" because of the heavy jazz influences during this time. This lead to the Harlem Renaissance because jazz was a big influence on it and it helped to develop many writers, artists and musicians. -
The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a white only club which featured many African American entertainers. It was briefly shut down during the prohibition. When it reopened it had been redecorated in a derogatory jungle theme and it played African American music for the whites. It became popular due to the African American performers which separated it from other clubs. This led to the Harlem Renaissance because this is the first time jazz was showcased and the popular performers got their start here. -
Langston Hughes
Hughes advocated for people to be known for their achievements instead of for the color of their skin. He was famous for wanting to be known as a poet, not as a Negro poet. He wrote many poems about his life growing up in Harlem and the discrimination he faced. Towards the end of the movement he wrote poems about how bad the Harlem Renaissance was even though he had helped it come about. His work helped the Harlem Renaissance because it showed that hard work helps you to overcome many obstacles.
