×

An important renaissance for our country

Every Black History Month, I’m reminded how fortunate I was to have had an American history professor at SUNY Fredonia, Dr. Bill Chazanof, who took time to teach us about one of the most significant yet little known periods in our cultural history, the Harlem Renaissance.

While we were well aware of the European Renaissance and its standard bearers DaVinci and Michelangelo, most of us had never heard of the movement in post-World War I America featuring black activists, writers, musicians and performers who developed innovative ways of identifying and celebrating African-American traditions, voices and ways of life. While Harlem was the epicenter of the movement, its branches spread throughout urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest.

Writers such as James Welden Johnson, Claude McKay and Countee Cullen, poets like Sterling Brown and Virginia Huston, playwrights like Joseph Seamon Cotton and artists like Aaron Douglas and Lois Mailou Jones helped inspire black pride among a people too long victims of white stereotypes and caricatures (e.g. black face-minstrel show traditions), a virulent racism epitomized by race riots and lynchings and demeaning characterizations of their intelligence.

While many readers may not be familiar with the aforementioned, whose contributions helped usher in the Civil Rights Movement and paved the way for future literary giants like Richard Wright, James Baldwin and August Wilson, most should be somewhat familiar with the musicians and entertainers who emerged during the ’20s and ’30s. The Duke (Ellington), Satchmo (Armstrong), Marian Anderson, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Jelly Roll Morton, Roland Hayes, and Bo Jangles among others, represented genres ranging from jazz to opera to the blues to tap. Their contributions will forever be part of the American musical lexicon.

One can’t write about the Harlem Renaissance without mentioning two of its most iconic representatives — Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson. Born in Joplin, Mo., in 1902, Hughes’ prolific writing career began at 18 when he published my favorite poem of his, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The masterpiece illustrates how the soul and heritage of the black community is connected to the great rivers of the Middle East (Euphrates), Africa (Nile) and America (Mississippi). He describes a journey of Africans and African-Americans linking them to the birth of civilization.

The “Rivers” is in effect a tale of freedom and enslavement endured by blacks; a tale which heralds their wisdom and strength. Hughes’ poems, novels, short stories (featuring the character Jesse B. Semple) and children’s works conveyed the “nuances of black life and its frustrations.”

He was truly the people’s poet and writer and so popular that he was the first black American to earn his living solely from his profession. Area libraries, public and school, should have on hand copies of his “Weary Blues,” “The Return of Simple” and “The Sweet and Sour Animal Book” (children’s poetry augmented by artwork of elementary students at the Harlem School of Arts).

Paul Robeson was the quintessential “Renaissance Man.” The latter is a person who is skilled in multiple fields or disciplines and possesses a broad base of knowledge (e.g. Leonardo DaVinci). Born in 1898, Robeson overcame a difficult childhood-his mom died when he was 6 and his dad, an escaped slave, worked menial jobs before becoming a minister-to earn an academic scholarship at Rutgers.

There, as the only black student, he graduated as valedictorian, sang in the Glee Club, won four oratorical contests and earned numerous letters in varsity sports. He excelled at football where the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder was named first-team All-American twice, made the College Hall of Fame and was considered by Walter Camp the greatest end ever.

He achieved all this and more while caring for his seriously ill father. In his valedictory speech, he exhorted his fellow students to work equally for all Americans.

During his adulthood, he earned a law degree from Columbia University and played in the NFL for three years. But he’ll be forever remembered as one of America’s greatest bass vocalists and actors, best known for his rendition of “Old Man River” in the musical Showboat both on Broadway and the silver screen.

During the Harlem Renaissance he earned critical acclaim with memorable performances in “The Emperor Jones,” “All God’s Chillun Got Wings” and “Othello.” At the risk of sacrificing his career and reputation, he followed his heart and exhibited his courage of conviction by advocating the cause of the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War and advancing the cause of civil rights by joining the Council on African Affairs. Finally, during World War II, he became America’s “no. 1 entertainer” with his radio broadcast of Ballad for Americans.

Throughout my career at Herkimer County Community College, I made it a point to teach the Harlem Renaissance annually and to advocate for its inclusion in the syllabi in area elementary and secondary schools. The reasons were obvious.

The movement demanded recognition because of the significant role it played in our cultural history. Perhaps more importantly, by teaching our children about Hughes and Robeson and their peers, we’d be providing them with viable role models and concomitantly helping to eradicate racial stereotypes. I sincerely hope that today’s teachers give the Harlem Renaissance its deserved attention and that they, along with readers and their children, take time to Google a poem by Hughes, or purchase a CD by Robeson, or go see Fences and Hidden Figures at an area theater.

The experiences will prove memorable and you’d be keeping with the adage that a democracy cannot endure without an informed citizenry.

Ray Lenarcic is a 1965 State University of New York at Fredonia graduate and is a resident of Herkimer.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today