Final Flashcards
the decade of extraordinary creativity in the arts of black Americans and that much of that creativity found its’ focus on the activities of African Americans living in NYC. 1920s were the most productive years. Harlem was a heightened version of what was happening in other cities and other countries. The Great Migration: first few decades of the 20th century where African Americans migrate North due to job opportunities in factories, the need to escape segregation and racial violence in the South. Harlem becomes a center for African American culture and in large cities like Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Chicago. It was called blank because of economic crash where white people left their homes in Harlem and black people moved in.
Harlem Renaissance (1919-1940)
Beginning of 20th century and borrowed from the spirituals and secular work songs. Song by singular vocalist. It contains two repeated lines, and a third line that rhymes. Call and response between singer and audience/ instrument. It is secular and they complain about the bad times ahead
blues
mix of blues (ragtime, marching band, classical, Native Americans, spirituals, work songs). Started in the twenties and spread from New Orleans to other cities. It was urban centered and influenced by the train and all connotations of it. Centered around African American voice and often used as an instrument. It is collaborative and improvisation. It contains dark sensibilities that things may not turn out well; music offers humor and lightness.
jazz
A time of confrontation of social problems. Settings and tone moved from rural south to Northern urban, hip hop, black cultured (imitated by whites). Portrayed difficult realistic situations; moved away from interest in aesthetics (formal traditions). It contained protest, political novel, and inspired by Marxists theory. (Richard Wright).
urban realism (1940-1960)
Moved away from dark realism, protest novel to more formally experimental works. Embraced white western modernist tradition and black tradition altogether. (Baldwin).
black modernism (1940-1960)
secular songs meant to make arguments
songs of social change (1960s)
term invented by music labels, commercialized. Blend of jazz, blues, latin, and gospel. Dance Music and its based in Detroit’s motown.
rhythm and blues
comes from diverse traditions, but especially black sermons and the blues, stylized talk and game chants, the Dozens (insulting each other in a game of wits). Began in 70s NYC. Popular themes are; sexual conquest, violence of life on the streets, desire for money/ poverty, realism of the “no-exit realm of the black urban poor”, political critique. Using sampling of other music, sounds.
hip hop
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
He is claiming his culture and the alliance he claims with rivers is claiming dignity. It’s important that the speaker claims to have known these rivers because some are a thousand years old. So the speaker is claiming to be as old as the rivers or to have an old culture. The speaker is speaking for his or her black ancestors. Rivers like the Euphrates, Niles, and Mississippi trace the history of African Americans.
Hughes
“Mother to Son”
The speaker equates the history of African-Americans with an endless flight of broken-down stairs, such as might be found in the the cramped and crumbling tenements in which many poor blacks found themselves forced to live in the ghetto neighborhoods of the northern cities. Yet no matter how frustrating or tiring the climb, no matter how many setbacks she has suffered, she says, “I’se been a-climbin’ on.” The future of blacks in America, she suggests to her son and to the reader, depends on this willingness to keep climbing, to not turn back, to not “set down on the steps / ‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.” We’re not at the top of the stairs yet, she tells us, and we may feel like giving up, but it is only by continuing to climb that, in the words of the traditional African-American spiritual, “We shall overcome someday.”
Hughes
“The Weary Blues”
Someone is listening to a man play the blues. The man complains about worries but says he’s going to quite frowning and put his troubles away. It emphasizes the loneliness of the sorrowful, melancholic lyrics. The musician plays until the night is at its darkest, at which time the singer goes to bed and sleeps like a man who is dead. These last lines are morbid but also represent the importance of the singer’s music. Hughes suggests that the singer has achieved a catharsis through his music. Instead of turning to violence, suicide, drink, or some other desperate measure to numb to his pain, the singer is able to channel his anger, sadness, and weariness into his music.
Hughes
“I, Too”
The speaker imagines a future without oppression and where all the races are seen as equal. He is referring to the Jim Crowe era where blacks were separated from whites. The speaker still has love for American and feels WEB DuBoises double consciousness of being black and American. The invocation of America is important, for he is expressing his belief that African Americans are a valuable part of the country’s population and that he foresees a racially equal society in the near future.
Hughes
“Song for a Dark Girl”
Ironic because whites sang it and it demanded and patronized the African American. He uses the song to portray racial discrimination and the mistreatment of the black Americans. The word ‘song’ also carries ironic forces as well. The poem tone is developed as sad but the author opts to use the word ‘song’ associated with happiness or jubilation. The narrator is lamenting for the tragedy that befell her and yet Hughes uses song. The author could have used another word such as lamentation to match well with the tone of the poem. However, his use of the word catches the readers by surprise.
Hughes
“Harlem”
shows the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans. He then uses vivid analogies to evoke the image of a postponed dream. He imagines it drying up, festering, stinking, crusting over, or, finally, exploding. All of these images, while not outright violent, have a slightly dark tone to them. Each image is potent enough to make the reader smell, feel, and taste these discarded dreams. According to him, a discarded dream does not simply vanish, rather, it undergoes an evolution, approaching a physical state of decay.
Hughes
“The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” He lived a very restrictive way and he had to be careful and meticulous about he reacts or how is perceived by the whites or else he’ll get hurt. When he fought the white children, his mother beat him in order to teach him a lesson and to protect him. One of the laws is to always say “sir” when talking to white men. Having initiative is “owned” by whites as well. When he asks fellow workers to teach him something, they get offended . When you work with white folks you have to say in your place. Another law is to not speak against wrongdoings of white people. Wright stumbles upon men who beat a black women for not paying her bills. You can’t walk in white neighborhoods if you’re black because you’re perceived as a threat. As a hall boy you can’t look at the naked prostitutes because of the purity placed on them. In the end he learned how to lie. He was able to get library books by lying that a white person sent him to get books. He tried to play the role of a dumb person. It’s a sacrifice of manhood that black men had to go through. UNSTATED RULES
Richard Wright
