Sterling A Brown

James Weldon Johnson praised Sterling Brown's use of "racy dialect of the Negro in literature". Johnson found moree to praise of his poems than that of more traditional poems in the same volume. Brown established himself as one of the two major poets of the Harlem Renaissance.His rival was Langston Hughes. Brown was born in Washington D.C. in 1901. His father Sterling Nelson Brown was a personal friend of Frederick Douglass and Paul Laurence Dunbar. His father was a professor at Howard University. Sterling Brown graduated from Williams College and earned his master degree at Harvard. In 1929, Brown joined the faculty at Howard University. He had a strong passion for blues and jazz that influenced his poetry. He considered it an honor to teach at Howard University and stayed despite better offers form other universtities. In 1971, Howard awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 1975, he collected his second collection of verse, The Last Ride of Wild Bill and reprinted his first verse, Southern Road, now titled Eleven Narratives; Southern Road. Five years later, Michael S. Harper brought out the Collected Poems of Sterling A. Brown. Sterling A. Brown died i 1989. HE wrote a poem titled, Ma Rainey, which was about the famous blues singer Ma Rainey. It spoke of how she captivated an audience. When she came to town people from all over came to see her. They were very sad to see her go. Another poem that he wrote Sam Smiley, was a very dark and grim poem about a soldier named Sam Smiley was sent home after the war and finds out that his sweetheart is in jail awaiting to be executed for killing a rich white man's daughter. She was executed for this crime and Sam Smiley killd the rich white man. A mob came after Sam Smiley and ultimately Sam Smiley was lynched. Very sad poem indeed. Man was off fighting for his country and instead of being welcomed as a hero he was an outcast in a society that hated blacks.

Response to Stephanie Sowell's Post#13 Countee Cullen

First I love your site form the image down to the font of the text that you use. Countee Cullen is an interesting and very intelligent poet. He is best remembered for those lines that he said that Langston Hughes blew out of proportion but his works should be considered memorable also. He is not my favorite writer of this period (Claude McKay) but his works invite you to think about race. Although he did not want to b e considered a "black poet" his works told otherwise because of some of the topics he chose. My favorite poem by him is Yet How Do I Marvel because of how it tries to ponder the question of GOD's intention and works. This is my favorite poem by him. Yet How Do I Marvel could have been written in Their Eyes Were Watching GOD because of Janie's relationship and interest in GOD. Also it could have been placed in The Color Purple also.

Claude McKay

Claude McKay was often considered the first major poet of the Harlem Renaissance. Did more than any one else to develop trends to shape the movement. He was born September 15,1889 and died May 22, 1948. His poetry tackled subjects like bigotry and oppression. His works satisfied and inspired two major groups of black readers. His favorite poetic form of writing was the sonnet. I see why he went with the pen name of Claude McKay because his full name was Festus(?) Claudius McKay. He was the youngest of eleven children to Thomas and Ann Mckay, a Jamaican family. Thomas Mckay's father was a former slave so he tried to instilled in his children a suspicion of white people and he also tried to pass on to his children the customs and traditions of the Ashanti (West African tribe) from whom they are descended. With the help of Walter Jekyll, in 1912, McKay published 2 books of poetry, Songs of Jamaica and Constab Ballads. He received the medal of the Jamaican Institute of Arts and Sciences and a substantial cash award that he used to fund his education in America. He arrived at Tuskeegee Institute in 1912 but left 2 months after his arrival in frustration at the conditions there for blacks. He studied agricultural science at Kansas State College for 2 years before resuming his career as a writer. He left for Harlem. In Harlem he was befriended by famed poet Edwin Arlington Robinson and Jewish radical novelist and cultural critic Waldo Frank, two prominent white figures. Short story writer, Frank Harris also made an impression on McKay. His first break came in 1917 when Frank published two of his sonnets, The Harlem Dancer and Invocation in the Dec. issue of The Seven Arts. In 1919, he traveled to England where he met George Bernard Shaw. After his return to America in 1921, he contributed some works of his to Garvey's Negro World. In 1922 he published Harlem Shadows, which inaugarated the Harlem Renaissance. He stated that he created the book out of an urge to place the militant If We Must Die inside of a book. In 1928, his novel, Home to Harlem became a best seller (the first for an African American writer). This novel brought him into dispute with Dubois whom hated its depiction of the seedier side of Harlem. In 1934, he returned to Harlem after 12 years abroad in Europe and North Africa. McKay died in 1948. I enjoyed his works and creativity because he simply told the stories that no one else wanted to tell or deemed unsellable. McKay didn't care about selling copies, he remained true to his artistic self.

Response to Nakisha Gibbs 2/26/09 Blog Post

You gave a good explanation of youjr poems in this post especially the Negro Speaks of Rivers. I love the way your blog site is set up with the different pics throughout the page. I love the way the book, The Big Sea gives an explanation of why he wrote the poems that he wrote and what was the inspiration behind them. The book, The Big Sea helps to appreciate Hughes' genius and impresses me for his skills as a writer. I love the way you place pics in your blog posts to help explain your posts. You have a beautiful site.

Response to Regina Simmons Post

I agree with you Regina. This book was very interesting and fascinating of how Hughes traveled the world visiting all of these different places but he left you wanting for more. His adventures were exciting but again the details were very sketchy. His relationship with Mary was clouded in mystery. I also would have liked to see what his relationship with the Russian dancer was about.He wrote a second autobiography and I would like to see if he was more detailed oriented in this one. You blog post was very good.

Countee Cullen

Countee Cullen, an interesting artist died at an early age but accomplished some feats during his brief career. He was born 1903 and died 1946. He was born to Elizabeth Lucas in Louisville, KY. Was raised by his paternal grandmother. He shied away form being labeled a racial writer. He was closely corresponded with Alain Locke's New Negro.Graduated Phi Beta Kappa and began working in his master's degree at Harvard. R2eceived Harmon Literary Award for the poetry anthology,Caroling Dusk. Yet Do I Marvel is a poem that voices doubt and confusion about the relationship between GOD and man and about the speaker's place world. This poem creates a metaphor when he suggests that huamns mirror the image of GOD. The poem, Heritage, speaks of what Africa means to the writer, Countee Cullen.This poem is very difficult to understand because of its use of so many metaphors. Incident is a poem about how racism leaves a permanent stain and imprint on African Americans especially the young.

The Big Sea

Langston Hughes' autobiography, The Big Sea is a book that seems to be getting interesting the more you read it and makes me take back some earlier statements I said about Langston Hughes' sexuality and lifestyle. It would be very exciting to just be able to go to Europe and imagine yourself in a place like France where there is so much art, literature, and cultural to absorb. I have met some French people before and at first sight they appear to have homosexual tendencies but aren't, that is just the way they act. Hughes' is being educated further after high school by going to these places because they give him the background information and creative inspiration for some of his great literary works that he later creates. A dream of mine is to visit Europe and in a few years I plan on doing so. Unlike Hughes I have responsibilities that don't enable me to just leave on the next flight to France. Langston Hughes is an adventurer that should be greatly admired because he takes life by the horns and experiences things that some of us can only dream of. He lives his life in the way I pattern mine by traveling and seeing this beautiful world and experiencing some of the things it has to offer. He doesn't let his financial limitations be his downfall and he doesn't rely on a father that is going to offer "I told you so" in exchange for money. He is to be admired because he is his own man. This book is something else it started off very slow but it is interesting in that it offers you insight into Hughes' life and the information to understand why he writes the way he writes and why he chooses the subjects that he chooses.

Response to Rhanita Oneal Blog Post of February 26, 2009

Hello Ms. Oneal. I liked your insightful commentary about Theme for English B and Mother to Son. You hit it directly on the head about how the instructor stated when giving the assignment to the students for them to "let the assignment come out of you, then it will be true". I also believe that this poem is also backing up Hughes' beliefs in the essay that he wrote, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain. I totally agree with Hughes in that you should not have to conform to a standard when creating art or writing literature. You should be who you are because that will make it more genuine. Mother to Son, another poem by Langston Hughes was about a mother trying to impart some knowledge to her son in helping him to become a man. Which was alot harder to be back then with the hardships our people went through. I believe that because of the generation that this young man listened to his mother because she was a big influence on his life (contrary to what other people think) and that he became that man she would have been proud of. You are doing well with your blog posts. I know that you are tired (as am I) but the mountaintop is almost there, homegirl. Hang in there!

Response to Joe Grinage Blog Post#10

Very insightful and creative blogsite. I enjoyed reading your blog post. While reading it, I pictured those zoot suits you were talking about with everyone dancing all night long to the sounds of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, or Bessie Smith. They celebrated back in those times the way I believe that you and I would like to have celebrated. Not having to worrying about guns or getting killed, everyone was out to have a good time. There were some bad apples in the bunch but it seemed to be alot more contained back then. Nice picture dude keep up the good work!

In the early 1940's, Langson Hughes creeated a character named Jess B. Semple. This character represented the black man of that age and told stories and stated social commentary that was quite funny. One of his commentaries was named Semple on Indian Blood which talked bout my race and how we claim to having Indian blood running through our veins (which we do claim). I have been known to claim this as my maternal great grandmother was fullblooded Cherokee Indian. She had long beautiful black hair that my grandma told me she liked to brush. Anyway in the story Semple states that we use this claim of Indian blood as a reason for our getting into fights. This lecture also talks about women and how we want them to act and look (old fashioned and modern at the same time). Talked about Creole women and how beautiful but crazy they are. States a pretty woman will get a man into trouble. Also states that everyone should take other people as they are-the world would be alot simpler. Last Whipping is a story about love of family, respect for your elders, and caring for the people who care for you. Simple tells us about his Aunt Lucy, who raised him after his mother died, who is forced to whip Jesse for stealing one of her prized pullet hens—a hen that Jesse gave to a girl for a Sunday School picnic. When Simple hears that he’s going to be whipped, he resists because he’s a man, going on seventeen and big as an ox. But when his Aunt begins to cry, saying things like she thinks she’s failed in raising Jesse to be good, Jesse submits to the whipping and promises to behave himself. He tells us that “from that day to this, I have tried to behave myself.” He then stated, "That was his last whipping!" Very funny story indeed. Semple was a unique character that dealt with racism using honesty, humor, and determination.

Readings for 3/3/09

The readings for 3/3/09 first dealt with the history of jazz and blues. Jazz and Blues are intertwined and blues is like the grandfather of jazz. Blues originated in New Orleans, Mississippi Delta, and Memphis, TN while jazz originated in New Orleans. Blues involved a compelling rythmic sound between that relied on patterns of call and response between singer singer and audience or singer and instrument. Jazz was primarily instrumental music that was impacted by the voice.Jazz and blues both dealt with the dim circumstances of life. Both genres of music involved improvisation of music on your instrument. The music is not as structured as say classical music where you read and play what is on the sheet music but inolves the feelings of the musician towards the music and how he allows himself to get caught up and absorbed in the rhythm and rich beats of the song. The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes is a poem about a musician playing the song Weary Blues all night. The song was very relaxed and low key. Some of the lyrics in the song was that "I got the weary blues, and can't be satisfied, I ain't happy no mo, and I wish that I had died". After playing the song all night the musician went up to his room and went to bed and slept very heavy like a man that's dead. The Blues I'm Playing by Langston Hughes is a story about Oceola and her benefactor Mrs. Ellsworth. Oceola was being taken care of by Mrs. Ellsworth because of her musical talent. Mrs. Ellsworth sponsored piano lessons and trips to Europe for Oceola so she could further develop her musical talent but Oceola kept going back to what pleased her the most which was playing jazz which frustrated Mrs. Ellsworth. Also Oceola had a boyfriend, Pete that Mrs. Ellsworth didn't approve of because she believed that it took some of Oceola's focus away from her music. In the end Oceola chose decided that she would juggle her impending nuptials to her boyfriend and her musical career but Mrs. Ellsworth wanted her to shoot for the stars as far as her music career could go without outside distractions. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) by Duke Ellington (1931) was a wondefully written jazz song. The song has a fast beat that makes you want to pat your feet and sing along with it. If you watch TV you have seen the song being used in commercials for years.

Readings for 2/26/09

Readings for 2/26/09: Interesting piece about Langston Hughes it was supposed to be his biography but there was never any talk about whether or not he ever got married. I heard rumors that he was gay but don't know the validity of that assessment. Langston Hughes helped define the spirit of an age. Hughes has two other relatives that have made a mark on history his grandmother's first husband died at Harpers Ferry in a slave revolt, his maternal grandfather was prominent in Kansas politics during Reconstruction, and his brother was one of the famous Black Americans from the 19th century as a congressman from Virginia and the founding dean of the Law School of Howard University. He lived a life traveling and experiencing different cultures. In Mexico and abroad in Europe. The Negro Speaks of Rivers is a poem about the black man's soul that has grown across the ages from the time in Africa building huts to the time on the Nile building a pyramid. How it heard the Mississippi River sing when a young Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans and decided that one day he would end slavery. The poem Harlem speaks of a dream that is postponed and how does it spoil because of it being postponed or does it explode like a stick of dynamite. This dream they are referring to is the civil rights of the black man. Theme for English B speaks of how a colored student in an all white class is writing a page and wonders if his page will be colored that he writes because of his race. He likes the same things that white people do (Bach) but ponders this question. Also speaks of how the white instructor does not want to be a part of the African American student and the student does not want to be a part of the white instructor either but it is something they can't control because they are both American.

Readings for 2/24/09

The readings for February 24th were very ordinary after reading Their Eyes Were Watching GOD. A Black Man Talks of Reaping is a poem about a man that is a former slave that seems bitter because of the work he has performed through the years of his life but yet does not have any spoils from it. He is especially bitter because his children is feeding off of the fruits of his labor. Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem is a lighter poem that is describing Alain Locke's "New Negro" that has shed his subservience and bent posture for that of walking upright, proud, angry at the past inflictions to his race, and bound and determined to carve for himself a niche in this new world. Plum Bun is about a fair skinned child that becomes a woman that is ashamed of her black heritage and decides to call herself white in the world so she can enjoy the same privileges that they do. A lesson is learned and she realizes that she should not deny her heritage. People like Angela from Plum Bun saddens me because they exist even today. They are not proud of where they come from, they try to assimilate white people and desperately wish they were one of them when they come from this marvelous race of African Americans. I could never deny my race. I am ashamed at some of the things that we are doing today but that is the same with all races. All races have some members that are not making the most of their lives that only want to prey on the weak.

Their Eyes Were Watching GOD

Upon hearing that a movie was made about Their Eyes Were Watching GOD which was written by Zora Neale Hurston the first thought I had was which actress could portray Janie if she was as beautiful as the novel described her to be. I was anxious to see. When I saw Halle Berry (at the peak of her beauty) I knew they made the right choice. She did a wonderful job portraying Janie. She brought to life Janie's stunning beauty, her connection with nature, her gentle spirit, and her charisma that drawed men towards her. After reading the novel I didn't think that highly of Janie but after seeing the movie I felt better about her.

The metaphors in this movie that were more obvious were the one with nature (flower blloming)that symbolized Janie's development from a girl to becoming a woman. Another one was where she and Tea Cake were dancing and the lady placed some food in her hand and a red substance that looked like blood was sliding down her hand. To me this symbolized the tragedy that befell Tea Cake.

There were several differences between the movie and the novel: Logan Killicks spoiling Janie in the novel whereas she was working in the movie, Tea Cake never abused her in the movie but he did in the novel, Tea Cake gambling Janie's money away and not recovering it in the movie versus him having a "party" and recovering it in the novel, the trial was described in the novel whereas there was not even a brief mention of it in the movie. Also in the movie, there was no mention or appearance by Mrs. Turner and her light skinned brother that she was trying to get Janie to meet.There were other differences but they are too numerous too mention. The reasons for these differences is because of time considerations. This movie could have easily been a mini-series.

I believe that the message that Zora Neale Hurston wanted to share with her audience is that you should live your life to the fullest without regrets instead of playing it safe like her grandmother wanted her to by marrying the very old Logan Killicks in a loveless marriage or by marrying Joe Starks because he could take care of her. What she is telling us is that we should marry for love and live our life to the fullest.

Response to Tiffany White's Blog#4 African Identity:
Hello Tiffany, this is Tory. I agree with some of your comments in your blog but one I am unsure of is the comment about Marcus Garvey's plan to move us back to Africa as being crazy. You have to take your self back to that period and think about what our people where going through at that time and think of how hopeless their situation must have seem and how they were just looking for any alternative to the hell they were going through. I can see it from his perspective and do understand it as outlandish as it might have seem. But when you are desperate you will try anything to take you out of your grim situation.

Theme in Their Eyes Were Watching GOD

The theme that Zora Neale Hurston is trying to show in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching GOD is one of finding love and living your life. The journey that Janie went through with two loveless marriages and finding love in a person that she normally would not be associated with. She The message that I believe the author of this novel is trying to convey is that you have to live your life and not just go through life playing it safe. Live and sometimes take chances in order to have your happiness. This book teaches us that the role of women during this time period is one of inequality to men in society. During this period they are the "punching bag" or buffer that they use to take their fustrations out on. They are their servants, sexual victims, slaves, and housekeepers. During this period women's role was menial and not one of respect and equality with men as it is today. This period is one generation removed from that of being raped by their white masters and not being considered a real person but one of property. A women's status during this period is one upgrade from where they were but still one of degredation and subservience to men.

The Zora Neale Hurston novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God is an interesting piece. To me this novel reminds me of The Color Purple, a novel that I read last semester. These novels have some of the same motifs like loveless marriages, the bisexual nature of the main character, sacrificing of a life for a loved one, the growth and rebirth of a woman that has been through some experiences, and a relationship between a younger man and an older woman. Also this novel describes the rich culture of the African American race. I was prepared not to like this novel but it is alright so far. This novel's main character, Janie, is interesting in that she deals with alot of hardship and physical abuse from her first husband (like Mister in The Color Purple)and leaves him for another husband that dies and eventually winds up with Tea Cake who also physically abuses her but does love her. Janie Crawford is a women that has been through some things but is not discouraged and in her own way empowers herself form her life experiences and like Celie has her eyes on GOD which is the right thing to do. You can see alot of Zora Neale Hurston's influence on Alice Walker in the Color Purple with Janie being in a loveless marriage to an abusive spouse. You would think that these types of novels would have gotten old and stale but with every new storyteller there is something different placed in the story to make it fresher. The dialect of this generation brings back alot of memories from people in my hometown of Savannah, Ga and how they spoke, told stories, the night clubs, the simpler life that they led where the only entertainment for them was the spoken word that remained the only entertainment even after the technological boom. After finishing the novel, I learned to appreciate this novel and see how much an influence Zora Neale Hurston's writings had on future generation female authors. I didn't think I would like this novel but I have learned to appreciate it and the implications that it had on education. The way it ended with Janine coming full circle is a way all of us should live our life without regret, to the fullest, enjoying and experiencing new things, and seeing the world. Enjoy your life!

The readings for this day are Introduction: The Vernacular Tradition, Characteristics of Negro Expression, You May Go But This Will Bring You Back, and Dust Tracks On a Road. I loved You May Go But This Will Bring You Back by Zora Neale Hurston. The title of this peice left me scratching my head and pondering if it meant what I thought it meant which was about her man that left but after thinking twice missed what he had at home. What he had at home was a real woman, a pretty woman, a phenomenal black woman, a very sensual and beautiful woman. An excerpt I read from the autobiography, Dust Tracks On a Road, I didn't particularly like because it was written in first person and it was long and drawn out. I'm not a big fan of Zora Neale Hurston, some of her work is interesting but it does not move me. Introduction: The Vernacular Tradition is introducing readers to the oral tradition of black expression like church songs, blues, ballads, sermons, stories, and hip hop songs. The vernacular tradition is a very large part of our culture and helps to develops us as African Americans. The vernacular tradition started in Africa with the art of story telling and the songs that were sang before our forceful removal and migration to America on slave ships. This was very rich and powerful. Characteristics of Negro Expression describes our characteristics of expression like drama, will to adorn or to enhance the English language, the angularity that we use in our dancing, the assymetry that we use in our negro paintings, our dancing, the negro folklore that we tell in stories, our vibrant culture heroes that are in our stories, imitation which is our love of mimicry for art purposes, absence of the concept of privacy which is funny because it simply means that we can't keep a secret which is a broad stereotype that I believe is false because not all of us tell secrets (I call it "diarrea of the mouth"), the jook which is the first night clubs that were created in the past for African American pleasure where they can go after the world has just beaten them down, and last but not least our rich dialect that is passed down from generation to generation. Around our professional colleagues we talk proper but once we leave that office or school and go back to our hometown our street talk and dialect that we use comes out automatically without failure. As soon as I go back home to Georgia I find myself using some of the "slang" terminology I grew up using.

The reading The Negro Digs Up His Past I believe is an interesting piece because the author (Arhtur A. Schomburg) wants the reader to feel the need and desire to know his past and to remember the struggles that his ancestor has been through and what it took to get us to the place that we are at in society today. He also wants us to know our past, to never forget where we came from, and to never think that we always belonged in society because some of us have forgotten where we come from and believe that we are better than other members of our African American race. Also, Marcus Garvey wrote two wonderful persuasive essays that were for his cause in having us to move back to Africa. These pieces were well written and were not overwritten like some of his contemporarie's literary pieces during this time with long words that either bored the reader or made them drift off in their thinking. Marcus Garvey spoke in more simpler terms. The part of his essay, Africa for the Africans that I really liked was the part that spoke on those Negroes that assumed just because they were going back to Africa they thought they were going to rule over the native Africans. These kind of opportunists were not wanted and were not welcome. I enjoyed this because to this day you have blacks that are like this and think they are better than others. I read and see these kind of people daily and am sad for their ignorance. Time has not stopped for people like this and they are always available and make you feel ashamed to be an African American sometimes because of the way they talk to there own people but with other races they concede and show favoritism towards people that is not of their own stock. The second essay, The Future As I See It, speaks of the potential for Africa to become a powerful nation with the African Americans coming home and the aristocracy that we created through hard work and determination.

These three literature pieces The Negro Art Hokum, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, and How It Feel to be Colored Me all deal with the question of whether African Americans should accept and retain their African heritage or to denounce this noble heritage and to only remember their American roots thus appeasing society during this time period. The Negro Art Hokum by George Schuyler was an essay that tried to influence Negro artists during the Harlem Renaissance to bypass and forget about a heritage and country they never knew of and to accept their American heritage by creating works of art that was based on the land they now live in. I disagree with George Schuyler's essay because, during this time period especially, Negro artists needed to embrace their heritage to show their pride and loyalty to the country that their ancestors were from and to introduce and educate curious Caucasian-Americans about the creativity and intelligence of my race during this time period. Not everyone agreed with George Schuyler's perception of what should be the inspiration for Negro Art. The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain by Langston Hughes was a direct response to George Schuyler's essay stating that African American Artists should embrace their heritage and be themselves and realize that their link to Africa was a precious resource. I agree with Hughes perspective in this essay calling to arms that every African American artist should be allowed to display their creativity through their heritage that was largely unknown in American society during the early part of the 20th century. How It Feels to be Colored Me is an essay by Zora Neale Hurston that basically states that "Black is Beautiful" and that the benefits that come with it like listening to music in a whole different way from other races makes being black worth it. Through out all of time some people believe that being black is a curse that has befallen them and that their life is over before it has started. Zora Neale Hurston believed that she was not "tragically colored". She grew up in exclusively black Eatonville, FL (I used to live in nearby Orlando, FL) and only saw white people in passing before she left town to move to Jacksonville, FL. Ms. Hurston realized after leaving town that she was now a "little colored girl" but she did not let this realization destroy her pride of being "cosmic Zora".

President Barack Obama — Ushering in a new Renaissance

I believe that this historical event might usher in a new renaissance but it depends on how the American citizens rate President Obama's performance during his administration. The reason I believe that this might usher in a new renaissance is that his performance will show the country that race should not be gauged for the qualities of a good leader. Upon reading Alain Locke's The New Negro you see comparisons today to during that time period (1925) of the evolutionary thinking of the black man in today's society. This milestone event allows us now to truly believe that we can accomplish anything as long as we perform hard work and stay focused. The African American race is very proud now of President Obama like they were back then of the great artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Also there is a reetrospective of the outstanding African Americans like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that paved the way for this to happen now as there was back then for men like Frederick Douglass, WEB Dubois, Booker T. Washington, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Also, this milestone will be written about in future history books like the Harlem Renaissance is today. As for any doubts to his having a successful administrations, if he runs his presidency the way he ran his election I have complete confidence that he will be a great President of the United States. President Obama may be our greatest president ever.

The three pieces of literature that we were required to read for the January 20th class are very interesting. Alain Locke's The New Negro talked about the black man's evolution of thinking from that of inferiority and imitation to that of confidence and equality with other races. This quote from The New Negro is very profound and informs readers of this evolution from that of sympathetic plight and servitude into this evolved of the black male, "The intelligent Negro of today is resolved not to make discrimination an extenuation for his shortcomings in performance, individual or collective; he is trying to hold himself at par, neither inflated by sentimental allowances nor depreciated by current social dicounts. For this he must know himself and be known for precisely what he is, and for that reason he welcomes the new scientific rather than the old sentimental interest." The Criteria of Negro Art speaks of the necessary during this time period (1920's) to imitate Caucasian literature and art by Negro artists in order for it to be accepted and for them to earn a living and how it is asking for originality from the artists and their beking true to themselves. I believe that the true spirit of being an artist of any kind is in being true to yourself and your imagination which is the architect of the aspect of art that you create. The City of Refuge is a satirical piece because of the title where this "haven" brings about the downfall of a man from the South as he encounters a despicable individual upon his initial entrance into Harlem, New York.

Why was the Harlem Renaissance also called the New Negro Movement?

Alain Locke played an important in helping to shape this “New Negro Movement” by editing “The New Negro” a collaboration of essays, stories, poems, and artwork by younger as well as older writers, white and black.This book helped to define the movement by merging racial awareness with a desire for literary and artistic excellence. Also the "Great Migration" of Southern Blacks to the North escaping the racial injustices of the South. This period is a discovery of African Americans and the talent they possess to the world that considered us beasts and savages that are not capable of intelligent thoughts and artistic talent.