The authors and artists of the era simultaneously struggled with and embraced their African heritage and American birth and lifestyle. The arts became a means of rebellion against the racism running rampant through the south, as well as a way for African Americans to finally prove they had their foot in the door of American (especially elitist) culture. The Beginning After years of unfair treatment and humiliation, black people from the South started a migration northwards. Large metropolitan cities such as Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York City became hubs of creativ

W.E.B. Dubois, perhaps one of the more radical proponents of the Renaissance, was cofounder of what is now the NAACP, and editor of the magazine Crisis. He did not share Locke's beliefs that racial equality should be a goal reached through interaction, instead, Dubois believed that an educated Black elite should lead Blacks to liberation. He further believed that his people could not achieve social equality by emulating white ideals; that equality could be achieved only by teaching Black racial pride with an emphasis on an African cultural heritage. His most acclaimed work was The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of poetry and prose dealing with the "color-line" that Dubois was so concerned with. Dubois introduced the notion of "two ness", a divided awareness of one's identity. "One ever feels his two-ness - an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unrecognized stirrings: two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder."(The Souls of Black Folks)

The causes of this renaissance were financial and educational. Blacks participated in the postwar prosperity, although to a much lesser extent than did whites, and the young generation of literate and literary blacks made the best of it. Fueling this movement was the wish of blacks to prove to their former oppressors that not only had they flourished, but had turned their hardships into art. Add to this a whole new white audience frequenting Harlem nightclubs, and black culture began to receive serious critical attention from white intellectuals. Leaders of the Movement If this movement could be said to have any definite leaders, they would be Alain Locke, and W. E. B. Dubois. They were joined by such greats as

Some common words found in the essay are:
Alain Locke, African American, South Locke, WEB Dubois, African Americans, Americans African, Themes Styles, Negro Increased, Harlem Renaissance, Black Folk, african american, african americans, harlem renaissance, alain locke, negro movement, countee cullen, racial pride, lesser extent, york city, locke believed,
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