The Big Sea
1920's Harlem consisted of black and white integration, and the exciting lifestyles led by whites during the Harlem Renaissance. In the twenties whites invaded Harlem with an astounding interest for the black lifestyle. Whites began going to predominantly black clubs and shows where the performers were all black. This surge of white interest in black culture was nothing more than a fad that arose due to the dynamic American lifestyle in the 1920's. The vogue of Harlem, a key factor in creating the Harlem Renaissance. The 1920's United States government did not favor blacks. Years of fighting for equality and earning the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment had been eroded by the two previous decades of the Reconstruction era (Wintz 6). In the early twentieth century President Roosevelt gave a lot of support to blacks by praising them for their battle in San Juan. As his presidency continued he turned on the blacks and changed his entire political perspective of them. Southern and northern racism varied with different state and local governments. Many blacks gave up on the south as becoming a place where racism wouldn't exist. The north, the only alternative, viewed blacks similarly as the south did (Wintz 7).
During this time period in the 1920's endless blacks became popular for their talents as musicians such as Lois Armstrong, Singers such as Trixie Smith and Josephine Baker, and Writers such as Langston Hughes. The Shuffle Along, Running Wild, and The Charleston, popular dances taken on by storm when the whites decided Harlem the entertainment center of the twenties (Howard 1). The new view of the Negro being a source of entertainment instead of an ignored race, a huge development in culture in Harlem and across the country. Whites mostly experienced this carefree way of life that in the 1920's. As much as blacks welcomed the new visitors to Harlem and allowed them to go into their clubs, whites among the general black community were disliked (Bontemps 97). Langston Hughes mentions how a Negro would never be rude to a white person, although it was evident that most resented the new white person who loved black culture (Hughes 225). The white person that came to Harlem every night to stare and laugh at them, to listen to their music, and read their literature. The blacks that lived in Harlem and didn't take part in the Renaissance still struggled. The money flowed with the whites, black performers, and club owners; for everyone else life in Harlem improved little from before. The economy was a factor for the popularity of the Harlem Renaissance and the view whites took on blacks.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 950
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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