Name:___________________________________________________________
Mrs. Daniel Block ______________________________________________
English 11H
Date:____________________________________________________________
The Harlem Renaissance/Langston Hughes Background Notes
Introduction to A Raisin in the Sun
The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance describes a period of “unprecedented
__________________________________________, __________________________________________ and
___________________________________________________________ production among African-Americans.

Reached its peak in the _______________________________________________.

So named because it centered in Harlem in Manhattan, were thousands of AfricanAmericans migrated from “the South, Midwest, and even the West Indies”, often seeking an
escape from __________________________________________ and growing
_______________________________________ and violence.

Pioneers of the Harlem Renaissance-musicians like
__________________________________________________________ and
________________________________________________________________, and writers like
_______________________________________________________ and
_____________________________________________________-fought against stereotypes and “felt a
collective identity—they had pride in their race and asserted its contributions to American
culture”.

The Harlem Renaissance ended with the ____________________________________________ in the
_________________________________________ but the influence of these writers and artists continues
to influence African-American writers through today.
Langston Hughes

Hughes grew up often ____________________________________________________________________________.
His parents divorced shortly after his birth and he did not have much of a relationship with
his father.

His mother was a teacher who struggled to support herself and Hughes.

Hughes began writing poetry in __________________________________________________________________.

He dropped out of _______________________________________________________________ in NYC after a
year, but stayed in Harlem for a time. He also worked on a freighter “bound for Africa, a trip
that moved him profoundly”, and also spent some time living in Europe.

He was “discovered” by another famous poet while working as a busboy in a hotel in
Washington D.C.

His poems focus mainly on working-class African-Americans, and also were a platform to
“protest ___________________________________________________, especially the form of
_____________________________________________________________________ known as Jim Crow laws.”

He incorporated “the structures and rhythms of _________________________________________________
and ______________________________________________________________________” into his poems.

He died in New York City in 1967, and has been called the
“____________________________________________________________________________________ of Harlem.”
The Language of Literature: American Literature. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littlel, 2000. 916923. Print.