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The Harlem Renaissance was the most significant development in the twentieth-century African American intellectual and
cultural life. It's most obvious manifestation was in a self-conscious literary movement, but literature and the Renaissance
touched every aspect of African American literary and artistic creativity from the end of World War I throught the Great Depression
of the 1930's. Literature, critical writing, music, theater, musical theater, and the visual arts were encompassed by this
movement; it also affected politics, social development, and almost every phase of the African American experience.
Web Quest Objective
Your objective through this quest is to get a feel for this very important time in American Literature. This should better
prepare you to respond to the quote for the unit, as well as to research and prepare the unit projects.
Good luck!
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The Great Migration
The migration of African Americans northward was part of a general movement from rural to urban America that was influenced
by the deteriorating economic conditions and the racial situation, especially in the southern states. The population
in Harlem grew from 20,000 in 1890, to 224,670 by 1930.
Jacob Lawrence painted the Great Migration - Check it out in the Art page!
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In the News
The 369th Infantry were in the trenches 191 days, never lost a foot of ground, and were the first unit of the Allied
Armies to reach the Rhine. The German's named them the "Hell Fighters". They were from the streets of Harlem and surrounding
neighborhoods. Their Regimental Band was credited for introducing Jazz to Europe. When they came home in 1919 they marched
from Washington Square, passed the Arch on Fifth Avenue, and proceeded north to Harlem.
"We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting. Make way for Democracy! We saved it in France, and by
the Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United States of America, or know the reason why." W.E.B. Du Bois
A segregated army fighting for freedom and liberty for their country, that doesn't award them with what
they fought for when they return home.
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