Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

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Throughout my life I have endured many life changing experiences that have shaped me to become the person before you today. In saying this, I am deeply honored to except this award for my lifetime achievements and contributions. The combination of segregational events like the boll weevil, Jim Crow law, sharecropping, and the buildup of unfair housing conditions, and jobs in the industry, all had a lasting influence on me and influenced my art along with of course the Harlem Renaissance. (From Chaos to Collage) The influences that these events had on me like I said shaped me. Because of what I made out with my emotions and thinking on these issues influenced others as well. They understood where I was coming from and what I was trying to express.…show more content…
New things were happening and we were beginning to make a name for ourselves and show everything we stood for. New Opportunity was one of these changes. This took place in terms of getting jobs and being successful. Before there had been segregation and it was hard for blacks to finds work without having to sharecrop. In Harlem, however, blacks everywhere were becoming influences not only to their friends but to the total white population. During the Harlem renaissance over one third of the people in Harlem were blacks. It was a city of dreams and opportunity for us. (Conjure and Collapse) Marcus Samuelsson once said, “Harlem is not a playground for rich bankers and consultants. It’s got students of all colors. It’s got old people who keep history and tell tall tales”. (Marcus Samuelsson's Overcooked Memoir) I think this quote really sums up Harlem nicely. Women and Child reading and my work of Zach Whyte’s Bea Brummell Brand are both good examples of this influence. (ROMARE BEARDEN FOUNDATION)( Romare Bearden-Artists-DC Moore…show more content…
No matter who you are you grow up looking up to certain people around you and learning from them. I’m very excited to say that my work inspired later artists. August Wilson was inspired by my collages of African-American life and culture and actually used my works as influence to his drama. He stated that, “What I saw was black life presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness, in a language that was vibrant and which, made attendant to everyday life, ennobled it, affirmed its value, and exalted its presence.” Augusts Wilsons play was called The Piano Lesson and is about similar themes of black segregation regarding, trains, hands, music and college that I experienced throughout my life. (From Chaos to

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