Journal #28

"Albert Barnes was convinces that African Americans had unique artistic powers to contribute to the nations." He even says that African Americans are naturally more gifted in the arts than Caucasians. He proclaims that art is exotic, an indulgence. Facing adversity allows Negro artists to tap into a creative flow of mind that those who have not experienced it cannot compete with artistically.

Art is a reflection of race and civilizations. Take spirituals for example, they are so innately part of the Negro culture, rooted from their culture as slaves, teeming with bitterness and sadness. These powerful songs are expressions of art in its purest form. "The cultured white race owes to the soul-expressions of its black brother too many moments of happiness not to acknowledge ungrudgingly the signficant fact that what the Negro has achieved is of tremendous civilizing value." Barnes is confident that if Negroes were given the same education and opportunities of whites that works will emerge out of the next generation beyond the capacity that Negro art has ever experienced.

I disagree with Barnes when he says that African Americans are superior artistically because of their deep spiritual endowment. I do not mean to say that this art does not hold value, only that art is totally subjective. No race is superior to another in an artistic sense.

As Bearden says, modern art has been heavily influenced by Negro sculpture. Art changes and evolves as influences progress. The vitality of Negro sculpture and design was very popular and so set the framework for future representations. It is almost impossible for any artist not to be influenced by a previous one. Bearden states that there are several factors that hunder the development of Negro art. There is no valid standard for criticism, encouragement can sometimes be a crutch and it has no social philosophy. I'm not really sure what he means by social philosophy, maybe he means that art needs to meet a certain social expectation for people to like it. He actually welcomes negative criticism from white critics regarding Negro art. One such critic claimed that the sculptures were quite backward and primitive.

When you don't have anything worthwhile to say through your art, it becomes impossible to make it. Bearden says that no artist should be content with merely recording a scene as a machine. They should not confine themselves or conform to racial stereotypes.

Works Cited

Barnes, Albert. "Negro Art and America." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 128-133.

Bearden, Romare. "The Negro Artist and Modern Art." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 138-141.

Locke, Alain. "The Negro Takes His Place in American Art ." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 134-137.

Journal #27

In Leslie Collins's interview with Aaron Douglas, readers can actually experience the Harlem Renaissance from the perspective of one of it's famed paritipants. Douglas recounts the biggest moments of the renaissance, including his participation in Fire!! He was a famed illustrator during that time period, working with many of it's famed artists such as Zora Hurston, Hughes and Claude Mckay.

Douglas recounts the excitement that he experienced being a part of America's first all black society. He believes that young African Americans today share some of the passion that existed then. Douglas emphasizes that it was a movement that began with them, but they only lit the fire so-to-say. It is up to future generations to maintain that excitement, to have bold ideas and make them known. Fire!!'s creation disappeared quickly, as their hearts were bigger than their minds, they should have realized the funds involved in developing such a magazine. Although the magazine literally went up in flames, the ideas behind it remained and impacted the Harlem Renaissance culture.

The last couple of readings actually makes me think of talking to my grandfather about events from long ago, the way life used to be. He would talk about people I've never met and places I've never seen, all I could do was imagine, but never really know what it was like. McKay similarly attempts to set up a scene, telling readers how he used to admire James Weldon Johnson and how Hubert Harrison encouraged his work because it was for the good of the race. I prefer the short stories to the biographies of the people involved in the Renaissance (with the exception of Zora Neale Hurston's biography, she is such a fascinating woman!) because I can engage in the text without knowing the background story of all of the characters involved.

McKay was obviously a very important writer/poet during the Harlem Renaissance and he has a lot to tell about his life. But even he decided to get out and explore what the rest of the world had to offer, traveling across Europe to pursue new meaning. I think that McKay definitely comes off as a tough critic and even egotistic at times. He constantly judges the work of the other contributers of the renaissance.

Works Cited

Douglas, Aaron. "Chats About the Harlem Renaissance." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 118-127.

McKay, Claude. "The Harlem Intelligentsia and The New Negro in Paris." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 157-172.

Journal #26

The 1920's began the class struggle and the real social instigation of "inferior and superior races and civilizations." Obviously there were racial problems before this era, but they didn't seem as significant because the blacks were not even considered people, only slaves to be bought and sold. In the 1920's they were people, and a lot of people disagreed with this. This discourse became a national problem concerning all people. The Renaissance was important because in the years prior to this intellectual Negro movement few black people could properly express the emotional turmoil of the race and help to make the nation realize that Negros are no different than anyone else. Blacks were always capable of achieving the same intelligence as whites, but not given the education or opportunity to prove it up until this point. The Harlem Renaissance provided black people the chance to express themselves and although it was accompanied by much white criticism, they were able to show the nation the struggles and strife that the race endured.

Johnson overviews many of the contributors to the Harlem Renaissance in "The Negro Renaissance and Its Significance." Cullen, Toomer, McKay, Du Bois, Dunbar, Hughes, Locke and others are quoted in this selection. These writers brought grace, style and beauty to the movement, boldly inviting readers of any color to engage in their stories and poems, to grasp the hardships of the race.

"Black No More" is a very interesting concept. A fictional piece about black people being able to turn white, Schuyler reveals all of the problems that might unfold without the African American race. The NAACP declines, the KKK has nothing to do (I'm not sure why he thought that was a problem; I think it's more comical imagining them twittling their thumbs and trying to figure out a real purpose), Garvey's literature

I think that Schuyler's scenario examines the idea of societal status, race was a determining factor of status during this time. This idea of turning everyone into Caucasions plays a detrimental role in how social status was viewed. Can a society function without the class system?

Why is it that the Dr. Grone character is doubly respected by the Negroes because he is respected by the whites? Schuyler is challenging the Negroe view of white society. Just because the high class white people think that they are better doesn't mean that they actually are, it's as if the black people truly believe it and therefore put more stock and respect into those who are accepted by Caucasions. All in all this story was very strange and confusing to me, maybe because it was just so irrational or because there were so many different characters with different motives within 10 pages of reading.

Works Cited

Johnson, Charles. "The Negro Renaissance and Its Significance." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 206-218.

Schuyler, George. "Black No More." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 655-666.

Journal #25

Du Bois's "Criteria of Negro Art" discusses the value of Negro art and the way that it has been accepted into American culture. The work of blacks has always been highly criticized and often been called inferior. Du Bois proposes that the only solution to this is to act as if there is no color line. After years and years of suppressing the true Negro talent, it is tragic to imagine how many artistic geniuses have been silenced simply because of skin color. African Americans were denied the right to learn their crafts. White America has stifled the efforts of many black artists which poses the question, is the only surviving Negro image the one that was supported by White America? There were and still are many forms of Negro art that have survived racial discrimination, but they may not have had the recognition or spotlight that they deserved. There is no telling how many African American art forms have been created and shut down before the Civil Rights Movement. It is the duty of Black America to preserve what they still have and to make known the creations that have been overlooked in the past.

"Blue Print" provides an overview to black literature and the criticism that it underwent in the early years. White critics didn't offer blacks any serious criticism, most were simply astonished that they could write at all. The stereotypes were heavily ingrained into most white critics and this is why they had no real expectations for any African American literature. Wright questions whether or not Negroes take advantage of their minority status because their situations are unique. I think that in most cases the answer is yes, just like every writer strives to be set apart from the rest, to create an original work. We all have to take advantage of our differences in order to provide something fresh to the audience, otherwise all of literature would be monotonous and boring. There is no harm in taking advantage of culture unless the situation is fabricated. People care about what is true and real to the author, and if the author does not include his/her culture in the material, his/her identity can be lost and lose the reader's attention as well. Negroes have a rich culture centering around church, folklore and their struggles for basic human rights.

Works Cited

Du Bois,W.E.B. "Criteria for Negro Art." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 100-105.

Wright, Richard. "Bluepringt for Negro Writing." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 194-205.