The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the biggest eruption of black culture in American history. As freed slaves fled from the extremely abusive and exploitative south, Harlem shone as a hub of the utmost creativity and acceptance for black artists in the heavily segregated early twentieth century, creating a cultural and social mecca with an influence that spread across the entirety of the United States and completely altered the view of black culture for the decades that followed. Striving artists were able to feed on each other’s immense beauty as well as their struggles, fostering an atmosphere in which pride in one’s race was not only acknowledged, but heavily encouraged, something which had been virtually nonexistent up until this point in history.
Writers, painters, and musicians basked in their newfound community, the influx of people creating a slew of cultures of differing ethnicities and backgrounds which were all able to be expressed in a singular location. Harlem became home for all kinds of artists, including an already well established painter, Aaron Douglas. With a clearly identified, highly unique style Douglas arrived in Harlem in 1925, immersing himself immediately into the nurturing culture, and developing into quite a significant figurehead in the …show more content…
Dubois, Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. It was authors such as these, along with many jazz musicians, dancers, and other painters, who inspired so much of the genius that emerged from Harlem during this epoch of cultural and social shifts. Additionally, Douglas’ ability “to combine art and politics” (Susan Earle) aided the Harlem Renaissance in later influencing the spark of the civil rights movement in the