Harlem Renaissance and Josephine Baker essays

Harlem Renaissance and Josephine Baker essays What exactly was the Harlem Renaissance? If you analyze the word, Harlem was a black community of New York City, and a Renaissance is a rebirth. The Harlem Renaissance was the outstanding eruption and rebirth of creativity by African Americans in many different fields of art. Whether it be black poets, writers, artists, actors, dancers, or whatnot, they all flocked to northern cities, especially Harlem. In Harlem, which grew to be the largest black community in the United States, blacks did not face the horrible prejudices that hounded them in the outside world. They were freer to do what they wanted to, and the creative brains of several blacks rose to the surface to initiate the rebirth of all of the imaginative feelings that had been pushed back for so long. The Harlem Renaissance was supported and full of "New Negroes." The "New Negro" was the black of the future. Instead of the passive, "This is what God wanted us to be doing, to be second-class, lets just live with it," Old Negro way of thinking, the New Negro believed that they deserved equal treatment and were striving for the future. Josephine Baker was a New Negro, though not in the USA. She shined in France because American audiences would not accept her black elegance, believing such a thing could not exist. However, she would not just give up - she spread her talent overseas in Europe, and helped them understand how blacks were just as sophisticated as whites. In other words, she celebrated and took the Harlem Renaissance and its meaning to others around the world. During this time period and far afterwards, Josephine Baker earned a long list of achievements ranging from being the most photographed woman in the world at one point to being the first American woman to be buried with French military honors. Josephine's talents were broadcasted to the world in numerous forms: she starred in some movies, recorded a few records, danced on some of the most fam ...