Posts

Jazz Poetry as a Reflection of Societal Change

The Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement were two culturally rich, meaningful periods in Black history. However, at their core, there were fundamental differences in the significance and primary ideologies of the movements, differences which were made evident in the jazz poetry of each period. By analyzing key variations in the poems’ structure and themes, we can look more deeply at how these two major cultural movements had different goals and ideas that reflected their environment and time period. The primary way in which the ideologies of the Harlem Renaissance differed from the ideologies of the Black Arts Movement is that the former was focused on the affirmation of Black culture and Black identity, while the latter focused on societal revolution and transforming America. Harlem Renaissance jazz poems like “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes describe Black jazz musicians making “poor piano[s] moan with melody…coming from a black man’s soul,” emphasizing the notion that ...
5 comments
Read more

Drowned by the Jim Crow South

Richard Wright’s “Down By the Riverside” is primarily known for its focus on naturalism, centering on a man engaged in a constant struggle with his environment. But it also serves as a powerful commentary on the conditions of the Jim Crow south and the striking inequalities between Black and white communities. From African-American people being forced to work on building a levee to the cruel treatment of the main character following his act of self-defense, there are various examples of the incredibly harsh conditions that the Black community had to endure during the time of the civil rights movement. By writing a short story filled with suffering and heartbreak, Wright was able to display the systemic injustices faced by African-Americans in a way that is difficult to overlook.  One of the clearest examples in “Down By the Riverside” of the violent environment of the South is when Mann describes the conscription of African-Americans to build a levee. Hearing a gunshot in the dista...
3 comments
Read more

The (Un)-Reconstruction?

  Many African-American authors, during the time of the Reconstruction, included commentary in their writings about Reconstruction efforts in the South and their positive and negative effects on African-Americans. Overall, it became clear that no matter the extent of the efforts to repair the South and compensate for what Black people lost through slavery and the war, the process was largely ineffective and not impactful. The wounds inflicted by slavery and and irrevocable damage caused to Black families across the South were not issues that could be solved by rather feeble attempts to allow African-Americans the rights they deserved. African-American writer and activist W.E.B DuBois once said about Reconstruction that “the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again towards slavery.” Thus, many writers of the time took to their pens to reflect their own critiques of the shallow attempts to fix the deep cuts caused by slavery. Two notable examples are ...
13 comments
Read more