The Harlem Renaissance and Black Pride

    In Bronx Masquerade the characters are first urged to write and make poetry through their lesson and teaching on the Harlem renaissance. In class on Tuesday, we discussed the importance of this movement and its impact on Mr.Ward's class. Especially within this idea of representation. Many of the students in Mr.Ward's class felt inspired by the black artists that they learned about and used that energy to fuel their creative force and create something truly wonderful.
    I argued in class on Tuesday that the Harlem Renaissance was the first time Black art was really appreciated without the undertones of suffering. I am realizing that this is an unfair claim. Black art has always been appreciated. Black art has always been celebrated regardless of suffering. Additionally, many of the leaders of the Harlem renaissance did still address issues like race, politics, and socio-economic inequalities within their art. In fact many notable leaders like Langston Hughes and W.E.B. Du Bois addressed these inequalities within their works and demanded that Black Americans were given the credit they deserved for their cultural influences. Many artists in this time doubled as activists and literature, art, and poetry, thrived under the idea of challenging the white patriarchal norm and establishing Black pride. Truthfully I wanted to address the generalization that I had made and correct myself. The Harlem Renaissance was a time when Black Pride flourished and thrived in a public and safe sphere. 
    The kids of Mr.Ward's class were able to see that pride and internalize it. Seeing these artists that were proud of their identities gave the students the confidence to also explore their identities. We see the students embrace this in their poetry. Students like Lupe and Devon we see evolve through their poetry. Lupe who is feeling lonely grows more confident with herself over the course of the Open Mics. Her final poem instead focuses on a promising tomorrow instead of the isolation she felt before. Devon conflicted with his identity as "jump-shot" goes from challenging his identity to challenging the idea of identity, and especially black identity. The Harlem renaissance gave the students the confidence and the pride they needed to accept their identity and embrace their identity as black and Latino students. 
    When we talk about the greater aspect of Freedom Dreaming for this novel, I want to change my answer to something more in line with the Harlem Renaissance: Pride. 

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