Black History Month Blog

Harlem, a New York City neighborhood, was the sight of cultural, social, literary, and artistic awakening for African Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. The Harlem Renaissance began as the "Great Migration" of African Americans from the South moved to large Northern and Midwestern cities. Many of the most influential participants in the Harlem Renaissance were part of this influx, including Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Richard Wright, and Langston Hughes. The Renaissance had far-reaching effects; even Richmond, particularly the Jackson Ward neighborhood (known also as the "Harlem of the South") experienced cultural, intellectual, and economic benefits.

Civil Rights organizations, such as the NAACP, started during the Harlem Renaissance, but the influence of this movement is most greatly felt in the tremendous body of literature, journalism, music, theatre, and art that was produced and appreciated nationally and internationally.

The VCU Libraries offer many books written during and about the Harlem Renaissance. Search for "Harlem Renaissance" as a subject in the catalog for a listing. Sample titles include:

• Aberjhani and Sandra L. West. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. REF PS153 .N5 A24 2003


• Anderson, Paul Allen. Deep River : Music and Memory in Harlem Renaissance Thought. Cabell Stacks ML3556 .A53 2001


• Fabre, Genevieve and Michel Feith. Temples for Tomorrow : Looking Back at the Harlem Renaissance. Cabell Stacks PS153.N5 T45 2001


• Krasner, David. A Beautiful Pageant : African American Theatre, Drama, and Performance in the Harlem Renaissance. Cabell Stacks PS338.N4 K73 2002