21-4 Critical Thinking #5

What did the Harlem Renaissance contribute to both black and general American history?

The Harlem Renaissance was a literary and artistic movement celebrating African-Americans. Many of these authors, actors and musicians were some of the most famous in their industry throughout general American History. A Jamaican immigrant named Claude McKay, who was a novelist and a poet, was a major figure whose militant Verses urged African Americans to resist prejudice and discrimination. One of the most famous writers of the movement was Langston Hughes. Many of his poems described the difficult lives of working-class African Americans. Paul Robeson, who performed in Shakespeare's Othello, became a major dramatic actor. As Jazz became popular in New Orleans, it came with a young trumpet player named Louis Armstrong, who joined Oliver's group, which eventually became known as the Creole Jazz Band. His talent rocketed him to stardom in the jazz world.