Cultural Innovations and African American Culture Ch 15, Sec 2-3 Cultural Innovations and African American Culture
Arts and Literature Artists and writers were: Questioned everything “radicals” in beliefs Young Called Bohemians Questioned everything Lived in areas like South side of Chicago and Greenwich Village in New York
Modern American Art Influenced by Europe New ideas of how to paint Painted/photographed city life Showed the excitement and scared feelings of Americans
Writers New topics include: The midwest Greatness of American life Women’s struggles The problems with society Tragedies with a fast paced society Explained the horrors of war
Writers F. Scott Fitzgerald: Author of The Great Gatsby Explained the problem with American society Made the 1920s/Americans seem superficial
Free Time Americans now had extra money to spend Craved entertainment Rise in sports, music, theater, movies, and radio shows.
Sports Baseball became America’s past time Babe Ruth-first real sports celebrity Negro Leagues Jack Dempsey-heavy weight boxing champ from 1919-1926
Sports Rise in College Football Red Grange- University of Illinois Fans went from the 1,000s to the millions Tennis, golf, and swimming also became big attractions
Movies Silent movies Piano players played music behind the screen Subtitles played at the bottom of the screen Charlie Chaplin-famous actor The Kid The Gold Rush 1927-first movie with speaking parts came out
Radio Gained popularity in the 1920s Sent out the news nationally for the first time as the events were taking place Played comedies, music, and dramas Helped to unite the country
Harlem Renaissance Started with the Great Migration of African Americans from the south to the north An artistic, political, and racial pride movement of African Americans
Harlem Renaissance Writers Langston Hughes: Wrote about the black experiences in a segregated U.S. Zora Neale Hurston: Wrote about rural culture of the South
Jazz Jazz: Started by Louis Armstrong Blends music from all over the country together Duke Ellington (piano player) in jazz clubs and speakeasies Cotton Club-NYC
Jazz Example
Blues A soulful style of music that started in African American spirituals Spoke of love, poverty, and oppression
Blues Example
African Americans in Politics WWI influenced African Americans to take pride in their people Stepped up to take small political jobs Great Migration allowed African Americans to have a vote for the first time Tried to reverse racial discrimination with new laws
NAACP Fought racism, esp. lynchings Blocked politicians from getting elected to high seats of power Had mixed success in different parts of the country
Marcus Garvey United African Americans Gave ideas of racial pride and culture new meaning Believed in education for all black youth and adults alike Wanted to be separate from whites (Liberia) His ideas started the ground work for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.