1. Romare Bearden and The Harlem Renaissance Dr. Carol Walker Jordan

2. The Man at Home

3. History of the Harlem Renaissance An Arts Movement of the 1920s and 30s “The New Negro Movement”..A Locke 1925 Embracing Music, Film, Dance, Theatre and Cabaret Harlem nightlife offered dance halls and jazz bands that attracted Negro and White enthusiasts Literature flourished in Harlem and in Paris from 1919- 1924 Possibly the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression slowed or diffused the Renaissance yet its birth and impact were felt for many years.

4. Why Harlem and Who Came Early 1900s Harlem wealthy district developed for middle class white people Beautiful homes, broad streets, Polo grounds and the Harlem Opera House Immigration of Europeans to the area saw middle class whites abandoning area Immigrants bought, rented and sold properties, particularly African Americans Likewise, the Great Migration brought African Americans to Chicago and Philadelphia The African Americans who came to Harlem brought interests and talents in writing, music and theatre productions.

5. Who Came to Harlem 1917 Play production: “Three Plays for a Negro Theatre” Issues such as racism, race riots, lynchings expressed through the arts Jazz bands: a new means of expression using brass instruments and piano Jelly Roll Morton Fats Waller Duke Ellington 1920s brought voices to the arts rarely heard before Not only to Harlem but to Chicago and other major cities of the United States

6. What Did the Harlem Migration Accomplish in Later Years? Encourage vast migration of African Americans to northern cities African Americans sought education and employment opportunities unavailable to them for the first time African Americans brought contribution to the arts Racial divide seemed to lessen Whites admired and embraced the flowering of arts from African Americans Doors to acceptance and collaboration were opened

7. Later Years Harlem Renaissance successful in building bridges toward The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s Writers could publish their writings in mainstream novels, magazines and newspapers Zora Neale Hurston said: “Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can anyone deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”

8. Romare Bearden: Descendant of the Harem Renaissance Born: 1911 Charlotte NC into a comfortable life for the times Parents Relocated to NYC for a better life with greater opportunities Cultural and educational stimulation existed in Harlem Enriched Romare’s life: college graduation and into the Art Students League in 1930

9. Romare’s Thirst Social Worker with gypsy population in NYC Experimenting with different artistic expressions Want “to work out of a response and need to redefine the image of man in terms of the Negro Experience I know best” Determined to embrace painting, Bearden formed “Spiral”, group of African American artists Spiral was seen as a response to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s which some embraced as fully as Bearden

10. Most Popular Media Expression The Collage or fragmented imagery became his most popular media expression Bearden’s early life in Charlotte NC became his fountain of images Railroads, trains, musical events, grandparents’ porches, baptisms, landscapes and painful and uplifting family practices.

11. Sample works Out Chorus, an etching and aquatint. Dreaming About Miss Anne & Lulu Belle, Collage on Board Green Times Remembered, Collage on Board Mecklenburg Autumn – December: Time of the Marsh Hawk, Collage on Board Heavy Freight - Mecklenburg Evening, Collage on Board Junction Piquette, Fabric Collage

12. Descendant of the Harlem Renaissance In reality Romare was not a member of the group of African Americans who participated in the early days of the Harlem Renaissance. Romare was one who absorbed, observed, and visualized old ways and new ones and prospered as an artist by the legacy left to him by those who went before. Enlightenment and encouragement to create and express through the arts his believe in humanity and dignity of all people.

13. Sources Alain Locke. The New Negro. An Interpretation. New York: Albert and Charles Boni. 1925 The Great Migration - http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/harlem- renaissance#tgmhttp://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/harlem- renaissance#tgm Great Days In Harlem - http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmharlem1.htmlhttp://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmharlem1.html Harlem of the New Negro - http://www.levity.com/corduroy/harlem.htmhttp://www.levity.com/corduroy/harlem.htm Langston Hughes - http://redhotjazz.com/hughes.htmlhttp://redhotjazz.com/hughes.html The Harlem Renaissance - http://robinurton.com/history/Harlem.htmhttp://robinurton.com/history/Harlem.htm The Development of African American community in Harlem - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance Romare Bearden, Southern Recollections. 2 September 2011 -8 January 2012. The Mint Museum. Amber Smith, Adjunct Project Manager, and Carla M. Hanzal, Curator of Contemporary Art. Museum Program.