The Harlem Renaissance:

Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Bennett, and the “New Negro”

Born from the want of a new black identity and the want for racial equality, the Harlem Renaissance was an uproar of creative expression consumed with a new wave of black intellectuals who began to express themselves through creative ways such as art, literature, and music. The Harlem Renaissance created a new identity for African-Americans, an identity that they would call the “New Negro.”  The “New Negro Movement” paved the way for all types of expression from African-Americans, but one of the major impacts of the Harlem Renaissance was the literature movement. The literature movement unleashed the work of talented black authors who wrote articles, poems, and novels. Every author throughout this era brought writings that uplifted the entire black community, however, writers Zora Neale Huston and Gwendolyn Bennett brought a uniqueness to the Harlem Renaissance that separates them from their peers. Hurston and Bennett opened a dialogue for the black woman’s identity that wasn’t seen throughout much of the writing  being produced at the time. For these two writers black women were at the forefront whereas for other authors (specifically males) the black and male identity were at the forefront of their writing. Hurston and Bennett create, through their literature, a space for the black woman’s identity in the “New Negro” Movement.

On January 7, 1891, Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama to John and Lucy Potts Hurston (Boyd). After moving to the little town of Eatonville, Orlando, Nora spent the next thirteen years enjoying a decent childhood with her parents and seven siblings. However, after her mother died , her life took a turn for the worst. Due to her father’s disinterest in her well being, Zora was passed on from one relative to another until finally, at the age of fourteen, she was hired as a wardrobe girl and maid by a drama troupe called “Gilbert & Sullivan.” Eventually, she arrived in Baltimore where she enrolled in Morgan Academy and then graduated in 1918 (Boyd). Over the course of the next few years, Zora attended multiple colleges, such as Howard, Barnard College, and Columbia University. While  enrolled at  Barnard College she had the opportunity to study anthropology with the “Father of American Anthropology,” Franz Boas. Boas awarded her the Guggenheim Fellowship and she “used the award to collect materials dealing with traditional beliefs, legends, sayings, and customs of blacks” (Bloom 47). However it was through her creativity and passion for writing that she became a person who shaped the Harlem Renaissance (“Hurston, Zora Neale”). A year after moving to New York in 1925, she, Langston Hughes, and Wallace Thurman organized the journal Fire!, which is considered one of the defining publications of the Harlem Renaissance era (“Hurston, Zora Neale”). Unfortunately, Zora died on January 28, 1960 with little money to her name (Boyd).

One of Hurston’s most well known and prominent works of literature is Their Eyes Were Watching God. In this novel, Zora tells the story of Janie Crawford, a woman who believes that she deserves to be treated fairly by those of the opposite gender. Throughout the novel, she goes through multiple marriages with men who either try to force her to be someone other than herself, or treat her like a pack mule instead of an individual. Eventually, she finds what she is looking for in her third husband, Tea Cake, a man who is younger than her but treated her in a way that no other man seemed to be capable of doing: with affection and understanding.

Hurston’s novel came shortly after the uproar of The Harlem Renaissance and during the tense years of the Great Depression, however, Their Eyes Were Watching God still held the feeling of the work written during the Harlem Renaissance era. This novel was a prime example of how black women were treated during the early 1920s. Women were not considered equal to their male counterparts and often treated as lesser beings, and they desired to have the same freedom and equality to men. The novel also gives readers a look inside the mind of a woman during the 1920s and how she wanted to be treated by men. However, most women did not know how to, or were unable to, express how they truly felt; Their Eyes Were Watching God could be considered a guide for women who try to pave the way and repudiate roles assigned to them like Janie. When this novel came out many people were against the work and Hurston herself. They criticized her for the novel saying that it wasn’t “serious”, which partially came from the suffering happening during the Great Depression which was in full force by the time the novel came out. Hurston refused to succeed to the gender roles and stereotypes given to black women, which also earned her a lot of criticism (Bloom 99). Hurston’s novel pushed against gender inequality and roles, and this is something that fellow writer Gwendolyn Bennett tried to accomplish as well.

Born in Giddings, Texas, on July 8, 1902, as a child Gwendolyn Bennett was raised on a Native American reservation. She had an aberrant childhood. After her parents divorced, her mother won custody but her father kidnapped her, eventually settling in Brooklyn (Hass). Bennett died on May 30, 1981, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her literary contributions can be found in various anthologies, with her professional and personal papers archived by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in New York City. Gwendolyn Bennett found success as a poet, fiction writer, and a journalist during the Harlem Renaissance (“Gwendolyn Bennett Biography”).

In one of Gwendolyn Bennett’s most famous poems, To A Dark Girl, she expressed her love for her heritage and she encourages all African-American girls to love the skin they are in:

I love you for your brownness,

And the rounded darkness of your breast,

I love you for the breaking sadness in your voice

And shadows where your wayward eyelids rest.

Something of old forgotten queens

Lurks in the lithe abandon of your walk

And something of the shackled slave

Sobs in the rhythm of your talk.

Oh, little brown girl, born for sorrow’s mate,

Keep all you have of queenliness,

Forgetting that you once were slave,

And let your full lips laugh at Fate! (Miller)

Bennett realized that the young girls of her time were subjected to hatred from outsiders. She believed that the depressing past that African-Americans had lived through during slave times had tainted the way black girls viewed themselves. In this poem, she identifies black women as being “brown.” This was done to point out that African-Americans had incorrectly been identified as being the color “black” even though their skin is indeed many shades of brown. Since the word “black” usually carries negative connotations such as evil and mystery, it is important that she addressed the young girl as brown. Even though Bennett’s poem touches on the horrible aspects of slavery and its long-lasting effect on the culture, she encourages young girls to forget their past, love themselves presently, and look forward to the happiness they will experience in the future. Like Hurston, Bennett uses her writing to uplift black girls and women. Her poem helped build the morale of African-American women. It is a great example of the message that black writers of the Harlem Renaissance wanted to push out into the world.

Literature from this time helped develop cultural expression as a whole. With help from black intellectuals such as Zora Neale Hurston and Gwendolyn Bennett (and of course male authors as well such as W.E.B Dubois, Marcus Garvey, and Claude McKay), American society was able to endorse experimentation of politics, religion, music, and written works. The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922) jumpstarted interest in enhancing the image of African-Americans by defining “The Old Negro” and “The New Negro”. The Old Negro was known as the mentality of blacks that accepted their treatment as inferior beings during and after the post-Reconstruction era. The New Negro was self-assertive, racially conscious, and articulate (Bloom 50). African-American literature, just like The Book of American Negro Poetry, served as one of the foundational pieces for the Harlem Renaissance movement and made way for self-expression and a prideful outlook on what African-Americans could do (“Harlem Literature”).  Bennett and Hurston strived to take on this new identity of blacks being this“New Negro” through their writings. They did this by uplifting African-American women and giving them a voice. Though women were their focal point they still were trying to do what other black writers were trying to achieve at this time: redefine and uplift the African-American community. They wanted to redefine themselves despite the stereotypes whites tried to force on them. For the first time in history, African-Americans’ work were being published and respected.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of originality and prosperity. As the Harlem Renaissance became more known throughout its age, literature became a prominent way blacks could express themselves. Great writers like Gwendolyn Bennett and Zora Neale Hurston, and of course many others, inspired other blacks to not only love themselves and the skin they were in, but to express their passions, whether it was through poetry, art, music, etc. Their writing served as the foundation for what was to become in America the new black identity. Instead of uneducated individuals, African-Americans were now portrayed as intelligent beings capable of producing magnificent works of art, literature, and music. In conclusion, literature during the Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact on the way individuals were able to express themselves and how they were perceived, and African-Americans have great writers like Hurston and Bennett to thank for that.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold, ed. Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Print.

Boyd, Valerie. “About Zora Neale Hurston.” The Official Website of Zora Neale Hurston. Sonnet

Media, 2013. Web. Mar. 2014.

“Gwendolyn Bennett Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. Mar. 2014.

Johnson, James Weldon. The Book of American Negro Poetry. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1931. Print.

Haas, Theresa. “Bennett, Gwendolyn B.” Gwendolyn Bennett. Web. Mar. 2014.

“Harlem Literature.” Harlem Renaissance Multimedia Resource. Web. Mar. 2014.

“Hurston, Zora Neale.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia(2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.

Miller, Nina. “On ‘To a Dark Girl’”. Modern American Poetry. 1998. Web. Mar. 2014.

The city was definitely not what my pop culture filled mind thought it would be.  It was dirty. Everywhere. Even Times Square. Times Square is where the musical scene or the romantic kiss takes place in the movies. It’s beautiful with bright, shining lights. It’s suppose to be magical. In actually, it is just a really bright place that is very very dirty. There are tons of vendors on the street and other people using different gimmicks to make some quick cash, with trash littered around them. Also, New York is always portrayed as this place where all cultures come together. It’s the “melting pot” of America. However, what I found when I would enter neighborhoods that really represented the influx of where immigrants settled was the disheartening reality of gentrification. Places were immigrants and blacks made a home for themselves decades ago are becoming nonexistent. I walked into Little Italy and out of it in less than 20 minutes.  New York is known to be the home of so many different nationalities, ethnicities, and races, but yet the city is driving minorities out so they can put up more stores and billboards.

When I realized that my dream of going to New York was coming true I prepared for my eyes to be opened to truths that I hadn’t known to acknowledge. Before the trip, the global class helped me understand that I really needed to be flexible and open-minded, tools that proved useful as soon as I landed.  I know from the discussions that the class had that the New York I thought I knew and the real New York would be entirely different things. I’m actually glad that my previous notions of New York have been destroyed. If you sit in contentment with false notions then changes can never be made. Now that I have been made aware of the conditions in New York, If I get the chance, I can actively participate in trying to change these things to make the city a better place for everyone.

Meeting Jordan Casteel was amazing. As corny as it may sound, she is an inspiration. Talking to her made me realize that the college and career path is a struggle for everyone, and it’s hard work and dedication that gets you through. Jordan informed us that she knew she was sick and that she knew she would need help. So, she went to her professors and sought the help she knew would be vital to her success at Agnes. I thought that was so awesome because realizing your weaknesses/problems is the only way you can overcome them. Jordan really made me want to become a better me. I also admire how humble she is. She told us about getting her position at the Studio Museum in Harlem, getting into Yale, and all the other opportunities she’s been offered. I didn’t even realize the magnitude of her achievements until after I left. Her humbleness is something I hope to develop. I want to be like Jordan Casteel when I grow up.

Before going on the trip, I was extremely nervous that I wouldn’t talk to anybody and that I wouldn’t be able to go to any bookstores. When you are in a classroom you don’t really have a chance to talk to your classmates in any personal or intimate way. You don’t have time outside of class either because you are too busy trying to keep up with homework and extracurricular activities. So, I didn’t really know anyone. I just assumed I wouldn’t be able to do anything I really wanted because I didn’t have a buddy to go with me. However, I think being on this trip really brought us all together. Everyone was willing to go to places their classmates wanted to go to. Above is a picture I took with a nice lady who works at the Strand (a bookstore). She informed me that it was her first day working there, which I thought was awesome since it was my first time visiting the establishment. I think this picture nicely represents how, when you let it, everything comes together quite nicely.

Today was a day I got to see  many different aspects of numerous cultures. I went to the Grey Gallery (NYU), Mercer Street Books,
McNally Jackson bookstore, Chinatown,
Museum of Chinese in America, Tenement Museum , and Celsius Ice Cream. What I saw on this day was how cultures are influenced by people and other cultures. At the Tenement Museum tasting we learned that many American flagship foods were actually brought here from other countries. We could see how America is a stirring pot, especially New York. Throughout our class, we’ve repeatedly witnessed how New York is a microcosm that encompasses so many different nationalities and cultures. I think that is well represented in the coming together of the dishes represented in the picture above.

By the fifth day, I was really connected with my group mates. When we got back from trekking the city, we just started talking. We were having a conversation in our room, but we went downstairs to the “diner” area when it got late. It was such a blast. Thinking about it now, I find it astounding that just a week before I didn’t even think we’d  get along, or talk to each other for that matter. However, what happened was the exact opposite. We really connected with each other through this common experience. This picture is one of my favorites because it was something I didn’t even expect to happen. I hope that the friendships made over the trip continue (Cue “Don’t You (Forget About Me” and the undying image of Bender pumping his fist).

The show Fiddler on the Roof was my favorite play out of the ones we saw. It was a stunning performance. The props, the set, the choreography, the music, the acting were all magnificent. I was transfixed while watching it. It was also extremely hilarious. If I could afford it, I’d go back and watch it again and again. The story-line was also gripping. It contained themes about dealing with change, hard times, and acceptance. I thought it went well with the information we’ve learned in class.

I had mixed emotions on the last day. On one hand, having to leave this new and exciting place where I made new friends was sort of sad. However, I was so happy to be going home. While the trip was fun and exciting, it was also extremely exhausting. Starting at the second day of the trip and continuing on until the end of the trip, my feet were killing me. We walked ten thousand steps or more every single day, and we were constantly visually assaulted (in a good way). We didn’t have any rest days, so we were always on the go. None of these things were bad per se, but it was great to go home where I could just absorb my experience and rest.

This week in class we saw this happen in different situations. We looked deeply into the case of the Triangle Waist Company factory fire. This tragic event was the ignition that allowed for a change that helped oppressed workers, especially women workers. However, the gaining of agency started long before that. Women realized the position they were in at the jobs they were working. They were basically slaves to their job, and they were treated as such. The year before the fire there was a strike against factories like the Triangle Waist Company. Like I said before, gaining agency to overcome oppression is gradual. The women on strike were gaining traction, and when J.P Morgan’s daughter joined their cause, it gained even more speed. However,  they hit some bumbs.  The women were trying to create unions, but Ms. Morgan would take no part in that, so she left the cause. This led to a stall in the coming change, but on March 25, 1911 everything changed. The Triangle Waist Company was engulfed in fire, women burned, women jumped, women died. 146 to be exact. This is the event that spurred people into action. It is sad that it took for women to be set ablaze for conditions to change, but, as can be seen in history over and over again, this, unfortunately, is usually what it takes.

I think it takes something tragic, something so big, so important that can’t be avoided because people don’t really feel a responsibility or an attachment to what’s happening. They may hear what’s going on, but they don’t really feel compelled to do anything. However, seeing women and young girls jumping from a building is so great, so emotionally charged of an event that the problems could no longer be ignored. We can see something like this in today’s society. Beyonce’s formation video shows that a message has to be big enough and strong enough to break through people’s apathy. Beyonce has gained weight as a media figure throughout her career, so she already has millions of fans around the world and people who adore her. There are also  many people who are upset about the killings of black people by police officers, something that Beyonce’s video expressed. Her video helped aid the Black Lives Matter movement. There was already steam behind Black Lives Matter, but having Beyonce (whose help in some ways parallels that of Anne Morgan) behind the cause gives the movement a bigger push, and  it gets the message to millions of people because they follow her. This is one of the reasons why the video has come under so much attack lately. I believe that people can see what can happen and the changes that may occur by having such a big public figure backing a cause like Black Lives Matter.

The way to gain agency is by getting your message out there and making sure people care about it. They have to care enough to act not simply shake their heads and say “What’s happening is terrible.” Gaining agency is a process. It takes strong people to come together and say that something they see happening is wrong and then try to change it. They also have to get momentum going, get their message to other people in hopes that someone like Anne Morgan or Beyonce will take up their cause and aid them in spreading the word. Hopefully they will put enough passion into regular citizens to make them be active participants in getting things changed, so that way it won’t come down to a tragic and horrific event that finally gets laws passed. Oppressed people gain agency by not sitting idle. They are like the women who went on strike, they are like the people in the Black Lives Matter movement. They make change by no longer sitting down and rolling with the punches. They realize things need to change and they try to make these changes occur, and they realize if they want a change everybody else has to want it too

In the end, gaining agency is simply having the courage to take action and making sure to bring people together to see that changes occur.

 – February 25, 2016

Lindner’s book gives a general idea of an image of the New Yorker. He gives us the big picture, but what his book lacks is a close up. Who are New Yorkers really? What troubles them individually? How do they feel about their community, their city? How has New York shaped them as a person. What we need from Lindner is for him to tell us about the individual.  For him to do that he would need to actually talk to New Yorkers. He needs to actually interact with the street walkers he portrays in his book. I think he would find some moving stories if he were to walk the streets of NY and talk to people, and see how they live from day to day. He may find what the creators of Humans of New York and Globe Trotters found: individuals. I read some of the posts from Humans of New York and Globe Trotters, and what I recognized were the individual and amazing stories of the people. Each of them had taken different paths in life that led them to the cameras that captured their story. I feel like those individual stories are what makes New York the city that it is.

All of this made me realize that, between the PBS documentary and Lindner’s book, I didn’t really understand or connect with the citizens of New York. I definitely felt sorry for the people who had rough lives and I was touched by the words from famous authors, but I didn’t have a connection to these people. They were just this group of people who I got an inkling of information about. However, when I read about the stories of the Globe Trotters, people who were escaping their home countries out of fear or necessity, and  people who were astonished and awestruck by the city of New York. I got to know people, and it made them important to me because, in a way, I felt like they were a friend.  I knew personal things about them. I read a post from the Humans of New York about a men who had to come to terms with his sexual identity. He realized after years went by that his sexual identity doesn’t define him, and that there were so many things that made him the person he was. I felt like I truly knew him and I felt like it helped me learn New York better. Lindner says that the sidewalks are a place for people to express their identities. This is exactly what we see in Humans of New York and Globe Trotters.

The people of New York have been shaped by their city, but New York has also been shaped by its citizens. If I plan to actually understand and experience New York, then I must interact with the people who have made the city what it is. It is not enough to just walk around and think I know a place just because I’ve seen apartment buildings, museums, and plays. If I intend to be a mindful traveler and delve deeply and experience fully, then I must talk to the people and get to know New York from the perspective of the people who actually live there.

– February 12, 2016

The book Imagining New York City provided some insight into the immense life New York contains. The sidewalks that Linder talks about are described in a way that they seem as alive as the people walking on and through them. The sidewalk is a demanding entity and you can see it in the actions of New Yorkers. The people are compelled to act a certain way and to look a certain way. The sidewalks are meant for transportation and mobility, but it is also a way to display one’s identity, wealth, etc. Linder helped me see that a sidewalk could be a site of negotiation and conflict by actually bringing the sidewalk to life.

Our talk in class about works of public art in New York was profound and insightful. We were shown Kara Walker’s A Subtlety, David Hammons’ Bliz-aard Ball Sale, Claes Oldenberg’s The Store, and Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc. Our conversation about these art pieces is what truly allowed me to see how the sidewalks of New York are a site of conflict and negotiation. I saw this in the way that all the art pieces demanded people to interact with them. These works of art commands the viewer to self reflect in some way, and deal with how the piece makes them feel and how they see the world. For example, Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc caused conflict because it physically forced people to see and interact with the world.  David Hammons’ piece makes the viewer think about the things they consider a commodity and the actual worth of things in this materialistic world.

Our discussion of Kara Walker’s A Subtlety brought up the idea that the piece may have caused African-Americans to be conflicted in how they viewed themselves, and that it may have caused them to distance themselves from the piece in order to not be associated with the image/stereotypes the piece portrays of African-Americans. Walker’s piece was especially bothersome to African-American women, and this is because, by standing next to the sculpture, they are immediately being associated with the woman. They become the real life version of this woman who is in what some would claim is a derogatory and degrading position. African-American women may feel that if they are seen with the sculpture then people will start to think of them the same way. It is this fear that people will generalize that keep African-American women from getting to close to things that might make them appear to be anything like the woman in A Subtlety.  In a world where blacks have to constantly be aware of how they portray themselves lest they fall into the stereotypes people have created. That fall could hinder their reputation, public image, and their ability to attain and retain a job. It is this need to remain unblemished by the stereotypes of society that forces these women to, sometimes unconsciously, distance themselves from pieces and other media such as Walker’s.

Some of the pieces caused conflict like Serra’s, and some of the pieces made the viewers negotiate with themselves on their view of the world and who they are as a person like Walker’s.  New York’s sidewalks are truly a place for negotiation and conflict.

– February 5, 2016

The author lists some major parts of what it means to be mindful. For example, he tells us we have to be mindful ecologically, culturally, economically, spiritually, etc. The author goes on to list other things, but one of the things he listed really caught my attention. When the author talked about being ecologically mindful, I realized that it may be a challenge for me. I’m am an accepting person, and as long as people are not harming, killing, or are innately evil I believe that everyone should have the freedom to pick the path they want to take in life. However, being ecologically mindful is tough because, the way the world is today, it is nearly impossible not to leave a negative mark on the Earth. Simply taking a plane to travel will leave another scar on the planet we call home. Though it is difficult and sometimes unavoidable, I believe that if I really put in a sincere effort I can reduce my carbon footprint. For instance, I could walk more, cut off lights that are not in use, recycle, or try to convince my mom to invest in solar panels.

Another piece of the article that I thought was very important were the parts that talked about engaging with the places that you visit. The article mentions the traveler that goes to a location and doesn’t connect with the place and the people. I want my travel to New York for the SUMMIT trip to be more than just selfies and pictures of Times Square. I don’t want there to be a situation where the only way I can remember my trip is by looking at the pictures I’ve taken. I want to fully connect with the city and the people. I’m going on this trip to learn more about New York, the world, and, most importantly, myself. I want to be a mindful traveler and embrace this experience fully. I realize that there are more perspectives in the world besides mine and I’m very excited to try to see through a new set of eyes.

 – January 24, 2016

In our second class meeting, my class and the other section going to New York for the SUMMIT trip got to interact with one another. The professors of the two sections showed us images and instructions on how to make a Personal Identity Map, a map that presents aspects of who we are and how those aspects are connected. Then, we proceeded to make our own identity maps which was fun and insightful.

Our professors sorted us into small groups to discuss our identity maps in hopes that each student would gain some insight into who they are as a person and connect to their group members. Through this exercise, I learned that I rarely think about myself and who I am. I’m usually trying to be who I need to be. I’m usually a student, a daughter, or something else depending on the situation. So, when I had to sit down and think about myself and what makes me me, it took me a while. I thought this was a significant revelation because It made me realized that it’s high time that I start taking pride in who I am and my accomplishments. One of my group mates, Namkha Norbu, informed me that she was a human rights activist, which I thought was astounding. I haven’t met any human rights activists, so it was surprising to meet one who was a teenager like me. I didn’t know what it meant to be a human rights activist, but Namkha explained it to me. She was very inspiring, and she made me even more excited to go on this trip with such a diverse group of people who I believe will change the world one day with their tremendous passion.  

– January 18, 2016

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