Harlem
Renaissance
Webquest
Background and
introduction
The Harlem Renaissance was an AfricanAmerican artistic movement that occurred in
the years between WWI and The Great
Depression.
 This social movement was spurred by a
large-scale migration of African-Americans
from rural areas in the South to cities in the
North.
 Your task is to carefully examine a series of
websites pertaining to the Harlem
Renaissance and explore the characteristics,
qualities, and people that impacted the
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Directions
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Webquest will teach you how to acquire information
about the Harlem Renaissance from informative
websites and apply this new knowledge in the
creation of documentaries that demonstrate your
learning on the subject.
There are four different categories: Dance, Music,
Literature, and Art of the Harlem Renaissance.
You will be answering questions from each category.
You will be given links to start your search for the
answers-you do not have to limit yourself to these
websites.
Directions
continued
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You may do this Webquest in any order.
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You will need to know what you are answering –
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Either copy the question or label the topic being written
about.
You may type your responses or write them.
We will be going over them on Monday
Have Fun!!
Art of the Harlem
Renaissance
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http://www.iniva.org/harlem/negro.html

During the time period, the social movement we now
call the Harlem Renaissance was called the "New
Negro Movement" why do you think this name was
recognized as appropriate?

- Consider the changes in America between the end
of the Civil War and the start of WW II, why is it that
many African-Americans were actively trying to define
what it meant to be both "African" and "American"?
Art Continued
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGcZGBEXPY0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGZh9VUllVs
The art of the Harlem Renaissance seems
overwhelmingly optimistic, despite the fact that
Harlem was already in a state of economic decline
and many African-American performers were not
embraced by mainstream America.
As you watch the two videos think about why that
might be.
Art-Jacob
Lawrence

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonnell/w1010/edit/migration/migra
tion.html

This website includes images of all 60 panel paintings that Jacob
Lawrence did to document the Great Migration. Why do you think
Lawrence chose this subject for his big project?

- What themes and trends do you notice that reoccur throughout the
paintings?
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- Choose one panel painting, describe how the painting relates to
specific things that you know about American History.
Literature
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http://www.jcu.edu/harlem/Literature/Page_1.htm
What were some significant characteristics of the
literary movement during the Harlem Renaissance,
and how are they reflective of the culture of the
period?
--Describe the transformation from the "Old Negro" to
the "New Negro". Which significant works/writers
during the Harlem Renaissance would you say
influenced or contributed to this transformation?
Langston Hughes

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http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15722
Listen to and read the famous poem

The Negro Speaks of Rivers.
What is the historical importance of the following lines:
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut
near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile
and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the
Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans
Connect this poem to Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.
Langston Hughes
I Too Sing American
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiCWngPt-L4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaDMSKZVKNY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UafcG4_KsOM&feature=related
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I have given you three reading of Langston
Hughes famous poem, I, too, sing American.
Watch them in order.
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What does it mean to be an American? I know
that this could be a very involved paper – see
of you can summarize it in 2 paragraphs.
Music
http://www.jcu.edu/harlem/Performers/hot.htm
 Where was Jazz first documented? What is it
a fusion of?
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-- The Joint is Jumpin’ and Minor Drag
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(it may take a minute for the audio to load)
What do you think of Jazz? Have you ever
listened to Jazz before? Why do you think it
became so popular so quickly?
Music-The Cotton
club
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdDsBg_p1
v8
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/peopleev
ents/e_harlem.html
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What helped to popularize Jazz? Why do you
think this increased the popularity of Jazz?
-- Who was Duke Ellington? What was his
contribution to the Harlem Renaissance?
Dance
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http://historyoftheharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/dancers.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahoJReiCaPk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp9b-0F8bQ4
The first link is an overview of dance, the second is a specific
dance originating in Harlem, called the Lyndie, and the third is
dancing at a rent party.
Why do you think most styles of dance was highly improvised?
Why was the Lindy Hop so popular (you may have to search
elsewhere)? How were dances like this used as a form of
cultural and personal expression?
Can you think of popular dances today that are used as a forms
of expression?
The last link is of a rent party-do a search and find out what a
rent party is?