Dunn’s Civics > Black History > Crafting a Black Identity in the American Empire
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement centered in Harlem that spanned the 1920s and 1930s.
It was a movement lead by artists, poets, musicians, writers, and political activists.
The Renaissance also influenced many French-speaking black writers and revolutionary leaders from African and Caribbean colonies.
In addition, it influenced European and white American artistic expression.
Langston Hughes was a great Harlem Renaissance presence. His poetry has lasting significance in the American literary canon.
He lived from time to time at 212 South Pleasant Street, Oberlin at the home of his mother.
His grandmother was one of the first Black Women to attend Oberlin College.
The Harlem Renaissance (2:53)
As African Americans flocked to Northern cities in the 1920s, they created a new social and cultural landscape.