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Harlem Renaissance
A time for African Americans to prosper through art and music. -
Protest Parade
Between 10,000 and 15,000 African Americans join the Silent Protest Parade, marching down Fifth Avenue in complete silence to protest violence against blacks. Nearly 6,000 African Americans were driven from their homes and at least 40 African American were killed; and men, women and children were beaten, stabbed, hung and burned. This made the African Americans want to rebel even more. -
African Americans Migrate
Between 1890 and 1920, about two million African Americans migrate from the rural southern states to the northern cities, where they hope to find better opportunities and less discrimination. -
Shuffle Along opens on Broadway
The musical revue Shuffle Along opens on Broadway, delighting audiences with its high-energy singing and dancing and, many believe, providing the spark that ignites the Harlem Renaissance. -
Black Swan Phonograph
Harry Pace founds the Black Swan Phonograph Corporation and begins production of the "race records" that will help to bring jazz and blues music to a wider audience. This was the first real record that was available to African Americans. -
James Weldon Johnson new book
James Weldon Johnson's anthology, Book of American Negro Poetry, is published -
Cotton Club
Harlem's largest and most famous jazz night club, the Cotton Club, opens. This is very significant becasue the years prior, the only ones allowed were white people. -
Writing Appears in Major White Publications
Poems by Harlem Renaissance star Countee Cullen appear in four major white publications. -
Jean Toomer's Cane is Published
Jean Toomer's innovative novel Cane is published and Toomer is hailed as one of the most promising young authors of the Harlem Renaissance. -
New Negro anthology introduces new ideas
The New Negro anthology, edited by Alain Locke, introduces the work and ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. -
Wallace Thurman Moves to NY
Wallace Thurman moves from Los Angeles to New York and soon becomes a leader of the younger generation of Harlem Renaissance writers and artists. Thurman wrote a poem called "Forward to Fire" which was to encourage the African Americans to take a stand against discrimination. -
Stock Market Crash
The stock market crashes, setting off the economic downturn known as the Great Depression. -
Harlem opens on Broadway
Wallace Thurman's play Harlem opens on Broadway, becoming the most successful production of its time by a black author. -
Langston Hughes, Not Without Laughter
Hughes' novel, Not Without Laughter, is published. This was his first novel published. -
Major Riots
Harlem is the scene of a major riot sparked by anger over discrimination by white-owned businesses. Three died, hundreds were wounded and an estimated $2 million in damages.
