FACES OF HARLEM The Harlem Renaissance Dr. Jarmon

NOVELISTS and WRITERS JEAN TOOMER GEORGE SCHULYER JESSIE R. FAUSET CLAUDE McKAY NELLA LARSEN ZORA HURSTON

RUDOLF FISHER LANGSTON HUGHES WALLACE THURMAN ERIC WALRONDWALTER WHITE C ARL VAN VECHTEN

ACTORS/PRODUCERS Richard B. Nugent Paul Robeson Angelina W. Grimke Charles Gilpin

ARTISTSARTISTS Jacob Lawrence Charles Alston Augusta Savage Palmer Hayden Lois M. Jones Romare Bearden Sargent Johnson

ARTWORK OF THE RENAISSANCE

POETSPOETS James Weldon Johnson Helene Johnson Gwendolyn Bennett Georgia Douglas Johnson Arna Bontemps May Miller Lewis Alexander

A SPIRITUAL ANTHEM FOR ALL PEOPLE Johnson first wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a poem in Hundreds of African-American students performed it at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at Jacksonville, Florida’s Stanton School, where Johnson was principal. Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson, later set the poem to music. By 1920, the NAACP had proclaimed the song the “Negro National Anthem.” Askew, an associate professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college, found letters of appreciation to Johnson from individuals of all different ethnic backgrounds. At that moment, Askew had a revelation: The song he’d known as the “black national anthem” was for everybody.

MUSICIANSMUSICIANS Ella FitzgeraldLouis ArmstrongLean Horne Count BasieBillie Holiday Duke Ellington

A Spectacular Venue The most famous club for African-American performers and popular music in the U.S. was the Apollo Theater, a continuing legacy of the Harlem Renaissance. From the beginning, the Apollo offered amateur nights each evening, where many famous artists, such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and James Brown, started their show business careers. Although its popularity declined in the 1960s and 70s, the Apollo experienced a revival when it obtained landmark status in Today the theater is run by a non-profit organization and draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors each year. It continues to promote new artists through its nationally syndicated variety show, Showtime at the Apollo.

In 1933 Fiorello La Guardia, who would later become New York City’s Mayor, began a campaign against burlesque. Hurtig & Seamon’s Apollo was one of many theaters that would close down. Cohen reopened the building as the 125th Street Apollo Theatre in 1934 with his partner, Morris Sussman serving as manager. Cohen and Sussman changed the format of the shows from burlesque to variety revues and redirected their In 1983, the Apollo received state and city landmark status and in 1991, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., was established as a private, not-for-profit organization to manage, fund and oversee programming for the Apollo Theater. Today, the Apollo, which functions under the guidance of a Board of Directors, presents concerts, performing arts, education and community outreach programs.

Ethel Waters Bill Robinson Marian Anderson Nora D. Ray Cab CallowayEva Jessye