Historical Background

Harlem Renaissance

This period was during the 1920s. Blacks began a "new era" fro themselves. It was also a fine arts movement that led to an increase in black confidence, literacy rate, and black culture. Writers wrote about their roots and the current society. Most of the movement took place near Harlem and was led by the middle class educated blacks.

Civil Rights Movement

This period was during the 1960s. Blacks fought for their civil rights and their voting rights. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, made the phrase "separate, but equal" illegal. Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, was the first school to allow integration without court order. Martin Luther King led many events during this period, such as the March of Washington. The bus boycotts that lasted from 1955-1956 crippled the bus business and eventually allowed blacks to sit anyone on the buses.

Civil Rights

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&sitesearch=&q=Civil+Rights

Harlem Renaissance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtSP7TnZjns

Compare/Contrast

Similarities

The Harlem Renaissance is like the Civil Rights Movement in many ways. Here are some of the similarities I have picked:

1. Both involve the black community overcoming a social obstacle, whether it was making a new
identity or fighting for equality.
2. Both periods began through the problems of racism in the South. The racism before the
Harlem Renaissance caused the Great Migration North and the racism before Civil Rights
began the movement.
3. Through their freedom to express themselves as a people, many riots and fights occurred with
those that opposed them.

Differences

There were also many differences between the two periods. Here are the major differences:

1. The Harlem Renaissance took place in the north, mostly near Harlem, and the Civil Rights
Movement took place in the south.
2. The Harlem Renaissance was a time period that encouraged the finding of one's identity
and embracing one's culture, whereas the Civil Rights was period that encouraged civil
disobedience and the fight to receive what one deserves.
3. The Harlem Renaissance also called for the black community to set themselves apart from everyone else and to stay as a close-net community, but the Civil Rights called for the opposite. It discouraged segregation from others and warranted for the blending of all communities.

The period's representation to the artists

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance represented the birth of a new beginning of freedom and identity for the black artists. Following the Great Migration, blacks began to form black communities and the level of confidence in themselves, their culture, and the literacy rate rose. The majority of the movement took place near Harlem. The writers wrote about their roots and the current society, the musicians played their new style of music: blues and jazz, and the artists expressed their culture's thoughts and feelings in their work.

Civil Rights

The Civil Rights was a movement for intense equality between the different races in society and the struggle for the voices of blacks and the minority to be heard. For the artists, their work reflected on the everyday struggle of segregation, racial violence, and civil disobedience. For the people, their day included protesting for what they believed while trying to stay out of harm's way. Writers, like Lorraine Hansberry, wrote about a typical black family's struggle through society. All who truly believed sought change during this period of division.

Elements of each period

Harlem Renaissance Period

The most important elements within the Harlem Renaissance Period was the literature and the music. It was the literature that told the world what occurred within the black society, and their fight for social freedom and racial identity, but it was the music that helped people "feel" what they were facing every day.

The literature consisted of true stories, made-up stories, and even stereotypical stories. Many writers included Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Claude McKay. The music was usually jazz and blues, originated down in New Orleans. Some of the most famous musicians include Louis Armstrong, Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Duke Ellington, and Bessie Smith.

Civil Rights Movement Period

The most important element within the Civil Rights Period was the pictures that showed how the minorities were being treated. The photographs are considered works of art. They captured what writing and music could not. Nothing can replace a more realistic form of art than a photograph. The most prominent photographer at the time was Charles H. Alston.