New Negro Movements

African Americans wanted to celebrate their achievements, culture, and arts in a way that expressed their experiences. Artists, poets, scholars, and musicians all took part in the movement by telling their stories through the arts. What is a New Negro? What was the goal of this movement? Let's explore those questions and more!

New Negro Movement's Timeline

To understand the New Negro Movement, we need to go all the way back to Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. These men were both great scholars but had different ideas about the progression of Black people. Washington believed that black people should remain out of politics and focus on economic advancement by training African Americans in trade skills. W. E. B. Du Bois believed that African Americans would progress by gaining political rights.

In the South, African Americans were affected by Jim Crow laws and could not vote. As time progressed, Washington's ideology became less popular as Black people turned to leaders like W. E. B. Du Bois. African American soldiers who fought in World War I returned to America from Europe only to be treated as second-class citizens.

The poor treatment of African Americans in the South led to the Great Migration where many Black people left their homes in the South to move to cities in the North. In the North, African Americans had better access to schools and lived in safer environments. Racist, Northern white people wanted to keep African Americans separate from themselves so Black people had to live in specific communities, one of the most remembered was Harlem.

New Negro Movement and Harlem Renaissance

The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance go hand in hand. The names tend to be used interchangeably for the same event. This movement focused on artists, musicians, authors, and scholars. The goal was to show the potential that African Americans had by highlighting their creations.

The New Negro was popularized and defined by Alaine Leroy Locke. Locke was a scholar who edited a book called The New Negro. This book showcased some of the bright and promising young, Black poets and artists of the 1920s. The book also included white poets and artists as a way to desegregate the arts.

Fig 1: Alain Leroy Locke

In the foreword of The New Negro Alaine Leroy Locke defines the New Negro in relation to the Old Negro. The Old Negro lived during slavery and was still afraid of white people ridiculing them while the New Negro did not live during slavery, so they did not have the burden of fearing white criticism. The Old Negro had a philosophy similar to Booker T. Washington while the New Negro sought to change the public perception of the Black community by creating art, literature, and music that painted African Americans in a better light. The New Negro was closer to the ideology of W. E. B. Du Bois.

New Negro Movement of the 1920s and 1930s

Let's look at some artists, musicians, and poets who rose to fame during the New Negro Movement of the 1920s. By showcasing their art, these creators exemplified black pride. Many drew inspiration from African culture and depicted African Americans' lives dealing with segregation and the weight of enslavement.

New Negro Movements Art

Two of the best-known artists of the New Negro Movement were Aaron Douglas and James Van Der Zee. Aaron Douglas was a painter who drew inspiration from Egypt. His art reclaimed Egypt as an inspiration for Black people from white people who appropriated its culture. Aaron Douglas used color and shapes to tell stories with his art of African Americans living their lives and dealing with oppression. He also depicted Africans being kidnapped and forced into slavery.

Fig 2: Aaron Douglas "Aspiration"

James Van Der Zee was a photographer who took photos of African Americans in fine clothing. His goal was to change the perception of African Americans by photographing them looking regal. Van Der Zee's photos still inspire people today.

New Negro Movement Literature

Zora Neale Hurston and Claude McKay were both incredibly influential and talented writers. Zora Neale Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God. This book followed a young African American woman as she escapes two different marriages. Her first husband was abusive and her second was overly controlling. The book handles themes of oppression through gender and race.

Claude McKay was less hopeful and wistful than his counterparts. In his poems "If We Must Die" and "The White House", McKay explores the oppression and resilience that African American people have to have to survive.

New Negro Movement in Music

Music is another way that African American people conveyed their want for change. While leaders of the New Negro Movement might not have considered Jazz to be a part of their movement, history proved them wrong. Jazz musicians combined spirituals with modern music to create something new. Some Jazz musicians in Harlem played for an audience of black and white people!

Duke Ellington was one of the most popular jazz musicians. He won Grammys, presidential awards, and even a Pulitzer! Ellington set out to capture the mood of African American people. Some of his most popular songs are Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got Swing and Solitude. Many of Ellington's songs were about recapturing lost or fading memories.

Fig 3: Duke Ellington

William Grant Still was a jazz composer who set out to make African American music that was different from white music. Still's symphonies like Afro-American Symphony and Symphony in G Minor have themes of replacing the "Old Negro" with the New.

New Negro Movement Definition

The New Negro Movement sought to overcome negative stereotypes by showing Black excellence through philosophy, art, literature, and music. The philosophies of African American creators were given through stories, essays, music, and art. Many of these talented individuals covered themes of oppression, resilience, Black excellence, and Black pride.

The New Negro Movement was able to reach people around the world. Many Jazz musicians played in Europe while the authors studied overseas. It was a time of achievement for the Black community and although the movement died down, those behind it left a legacy that is still remembered today.