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Tori Anito
18 April 2017
Dr. Gal
Poetry During the Harlem Renaissance
History in America plays an evident role when discussing Poetry. Poets such as Langston
Hughes, Claude McKay, and Richard Wright all incorporate detailed imagery within their
poems, often discussing racism and slavery in America. This technique forces readers to
familiarize themselves with the hardships and discrimination African Americans faced
throughout this time period called the Harlem Renaissance. Dates ranging from the 1900s to the
mid 1930’s, African American Poets centered their poems around Slavery and inequality against
blacks in America. Thus leaving Racism the common theme throughout works written by
African Americans during the first half of the twentieth century.
The Harlem Renaissance was also known as the boom of African American culture.
“Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to re-conceptualize
“the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to
their heritage and to each other” (Hutchinson, George). This movement increased the amount of
knowledge and information historians use in present day when discussing past events that
African Americans experienced. The Harlem Renaissance influenced African American Poets to
go beneath the surface within their poetry, reflecting on past events they experienced.
One of the most well known African American Poets during the Harlem Renaissance was
Langston Hughes. “James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin,
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Missouri.” (Langston Hughes.) Hughes is one of the most well known Poets during the Harlem
Renaissance, and also one of the main contributors to African American Poetry.
During the duration of Langston Hughes life, Jim Crow laws were still in effect. “The
“separate but equal” standard established by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) lent
high judicial support to segregation.”(United States History) Segregation became a huge aspect
of African American lifestyle, and effected the culture as well. This meant that African
Americans received “inferior treatment and facilities.” (United States History). A group known
as the “Ku Klux Klan” (KKK) were influenced by these laws. The penalty of “Lynching” also
known as “hanging” was still an ongoing issue in the southern states during this time. This side
of prejudice and racism influenced many African American Poets during the early twentieth
century.
