Harlem Renaissance represents the African American artistic movement dominated by black American poets in the early twentieth century, which mostly celebrated the life of the black people and their culture. African American found a way to express their feelings, state of life and culture, through poetry during the Harlem Renaissance period. Claude McKay and Langston Hughes played significant roles in Harlem Renaissance, and their works helped shape literature and politics in the United States. McKay in his poem, Enslaved, describes the condition of the African American during this period. He brings out the aspects of racism, discrimination, and freedom. Hughes in his poem, ‘Democracy,' talks about similar issues facing the black community during the Harlem Renaissance period. He also talks about discrimination and freedom which the African American community craved for endlessly. In their writings, the two poets show aspects of double consciousness which is a feature in most Harlem Renaissance poems. This essay will describe the roles of McKay and Hughes in Harlem Renaissance, discuss some of the themes presented in the poems and also provide a poem sample which expresses these themes.
Roles and Importance in Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance period presented as a period of black popularity in America, and many African American writers emerged. Born in Jamaica, McKay was able to see both the good and bad qualities of America ( Ogbar, 2010) . As one of the first poets of Harlem Renaissance literature, McKay gave a voice to the African Americans and also encouraged younger people to join the movement and the art. In his poems, McKay presented the situation of African American as people caught up in two different positions. They were black (or African) and also American, which McKay described as the ‘two-ness’ of African Americans. The fact that they were black secluded them and brought a lot of suffering to them while they enjoyed the fact that they were Americans.
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Langston Hughes, born in the year 1902, became one of the most prolific writers of the Harlem Renaissance. His life in New York City motivated him to write a lot of poems which helped shape literature in American and the American politics. In his poems, Hughes promoted equality and equity and greatly condemned social injustices such as racism. He also promoted and celebrated the African American culture through his poems. The works of Hughes influenced many African American movements in the 20 th century. Many other poets joined the artistic movement, Harlem Renaissance after being influenced by the great works of Hughes. In most of his poems, Hughes talked about democracy, something which many African Americans yearned during those days. Even though the situation of the African American was far from okay, Hughes in his poetry also recognized the value and the goodness of America and the fact that the black people were also Americans ( Trotman, 2014) .
Double Consciousness
Double Consciousness as a feature in most Harlem Renaissance poems, is seen in the way the poets integrated the facets, ‘American' and the ‘Negro' (or black person). The two poets, McKay and Hughes, show the integration of these facets continuously in their poems. In the poem, ‘Enslaved,' McKay brings to the attention of his audience, the sufferings of his race living in a country dominated by the white people. Hughes in ‘Democracy,' exposes the condition of the black person in American, living with limited rights and owning no land. The two writers bring out the aspect of the black person in America and his situation as an American.
Themes in the Poems
Claude McKay in his poem brings out the aspects of discrimination and lack of freedom. The first line of the poems says, ‘oh when I think of my long-suffering race, for weary centuries despised.' This presents the long-suffering of the African Americans and the racial discrimination which they face. They have experienced a great deal of suffering for many decades, and during that time, they have also been despised due or discriminated because of their color. At the end of the poem, it says, ‘To liberate my people from its yoke,' referring to freedom which the African Americans crave for immensely. In the poem, ‘Democracy,' Hughes says, ‘I have as much right as the other fellow,' meaning his community’s rights are limited. Hughes cries for freedom and democracy which he says will not come today or any other day. He also shows the discrimination of his people claiming that they deserve to have their rights because they also live in America. The two poems clearly bring out the aspects of discrimination and the lack of freedom which the Africa American community faced during the Harlem Renaissance period ( Singh, 2010) .
Poem Sample
The poem below brings out the aspects of freedom and discrimination which are also present in the poems, ‘Enslaved’ and ‘Democracy’ by the two poets discussed above.
Stereotype
I walk along the street
With my hood perfectly in place
And suddenly everyone appears to run away from me
People like me are stereotyped as bandits
The police do not hesitate to stop and frisk
My people still feel the hate
And the suffering of our forefathers
Funnily, we still suffer almost just as much
From injustices and discrimination
Our population represents only a tenth of the country
And a half of the prisons’ population
But make no mistake
I am not the enemy of America
This stereotype of mine itself shows the lack of freedom
References
Ogbar, J. O. (Ed.). (2010). The Harlem Renaissance revisited: politics, arts, and letters . JHU Press.
Singh, A. (2010). Novels of the Harlem Renaissance: Twelve Black Writers, 1923-1933 . Penn State Press.
Trotman, C. J. (Ed.). (2014). Langston Hughes: the man, his art, and his continuing influence (Vol. 29). Routledge.
