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Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston used very distinct dialect to show African American culture in the books she wrote. Her story “Spunk” was selected to be a part of The New Negro, which focused African and African American art and literature. Her main goal was merely to celebrate African American culture. This is modernist because during this time black culture wasn't celebrated much, but as the modernist era progressed the celebration of black culture became more and more popular. -
Langston Hughes
;angston Hughes was born February 1, 2013. He grew up and supported himself on odd jobs and writing. His writing reflected the idea that black culture should be celebrated, because it is just as valuable as white culture. He advocated many of these beliefs beliefs in his pieces of writing. Langston Hughes is modernistic because he felt that black culture was worthy to be celebrated of, even though many white people thought black people were worthless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7HSOwJw20 -
Lois Mailou Jones
Lois Mailou Jones was born November 3, 1905. She was an artist who painted and influenced others during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond, during her long teaching and artistic career. Although she was opressed by many white authorities, she prevailed and continued to teach and paint. -
NAACP is founded
The NAACP is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States. They helped fight for liberty for oppressed African-Americans. -
The Apollo Theater
In 1913, African Americans began to perform at the Apollo Theater. This started a trend of the new celebration of Black culture in New York City. The Apollo Theater became a place to celebrate African American performers. This is modernist because this was the place that African Americans would go to to show off their talent, and they were accepted here. -
The Great Migration
In the South, racial equality was becoming worse and worse. The South also became gradually more and more economically depressed as boll weevils began to infest cotton crops. This reduced the amount of labor needed in the South. With the conditions in the South worsening, many African-Americans started moving up North. They felt that they had not achieved full liberty in the South and they might feel more free in the North. -
Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was born September 7, 1917. He is best known for his "Migration" series of paintings, where he shows the migration of blacks from Africa, to the United States. This series focuses mainly on their history in the south. This is modernist because he had paintings of black people which wasn't very commom then, but it was starting to be accepted in society. -
Harlem Renaissance begins
The Harlem Renaissance fostered a new black cultural identity. African American achievements in art, music, and literature flourished. Some of this art included jazz from the Jazz Age. This provided happiness to the African Americans who had decided to move up North. -
Jazz Age begins
The Jazz Age destroyed old perceived social conventions and helped new ones develop. Everyone during this time seemed to have money. A new populart hair style emerged (the short bob) and the clothes that were worn were often much shorter than had been seen. Girls tended to expose their legs and knees. The people of this age wanted to live life to the fullest, and being rich brought happiness in their lives. -
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was an extremely famous jazz singer during the Jazz Age. In 1922, Armstrong was invited to Chicago to play second cornet in Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. As a member of Oliver's band, Armstrong began his lifetime of touring and recording. This was his pursuit of happiness and he lived his life to the fullest. He was also an extremely popular artist during the Harlem Renaissance.
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The Great Gatsby was published
The Great Gatsby reflects the life of people in the 1920s. It shows off the rich life of some of the characters and their attempted pursits of happiness. One character in particular, Daisy, was extremely fond of the rich life and believed that the only way she could obtain happiness would be to marry someone rich who could support her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Iu29TNfkM -
The Jazz Singer was released
The Jazz Singer featured was one of the first "talkie" movie's produced. It changed the way movies were made. The Jazz Singer expressed the idea that you need to chase your dreams (happiness). In the film, the son of a Jewish Cantor had to defy his father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIaj7FNHnjQ -
The Stock Market Crashed
The Stock Market crashed, resulting in major losses of money for those who had invested in stocks. The pursuit of happiness dream was put to a hold with those who had lost all their money from the Stock Market crash. -
Bill Robinson
The famous tap-dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson became famous with his role in Blackbirds of 1928, and all- black musical on Boradway. He was known for his elegant style and grace with white and black audiences Blacks and whites developed different opinions of him. He is considered modernist because he continued dancing because it made him happy, despite the negative opinions formed about him by white people. From 1935-1938, Robinson was the butler in many of the popular starring Shirley Temple. -
That's life by: Frank Sinatra
This song is connected to the pursuit of happiness. Frank sings about how he may get set back at times, but he won't stop his pursuit to be on top/ be happy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiUqfxFttM
