Black Harlem residents began to redefine themselves and portray their potential through their art, music, and literature. They sought to end stereotypes, build a respectable reputation for themselves, and create a lasting legacy of racial pride for generations to come. After discovering that the majority of their fellow neighbors had also shared common past experiences of hardship in the south, African Americans sought to unite themselves by creating a better life in Harlem.

ĭue to the high quantity and close proximity of black New Yorkers living in Harlem, these citizens were able to bond over their race and culture together. This overall mass movement of African Americans from the rural south to the urban north was known as the Great Migration, and was the starting point for the Harlem Renaissance. However, when urban citizens unexpectedly had little interest in moving into Harlem, real estate owners agreed to begin renting their properties to black migrants from the south. Additionally, real estate companies began to build many new apartment complexes in anticipation of a population boom among white New Yorkers. Consequently, many black southern citizens moved to the north to work in these factories, many of which were located in New York City. In 1917, during the time of World War I, many northern states opened factories to manufacture and provide weapons for American soldiers fighting overseas. The Harlem Renaissance began when thousands of African Americans moved northward to gain more opportunities, and to escape racism and limited rights in the south. By creating new forms of art, music, fashion and literature, black citizens throughout Harlem created and expressed a new sense of cultural and racial pride.

Throughout this era, which was also known as the dawn of the “New Negro”, black New Yorkers decided to step against the prior oppression and subordination that they had experienced due to their race, and they gained a sense of unity, integrity, and creativity. The Harlem Renaissance was a movement during which African American culture drastically flourished, as it developed artistically, socially, and intellectually. During the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance greatly impacted and diversified New York City.

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