History

Black Culture

Prepared by:

Oluwakemi Sule

Harlem Renaissance and Langston

Hughes

Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance

– A flowering of African

American art,

literature, music and

culture in the United

States led primarily by

the African American

community based in

Harlem, New York

City.

Legacy of the Harlem Renaissance

Paradox: art as a release of, and contributor to

tensions

The white audience

Glorification & sophistication of African-American

life and culture

A perplexing sense of optimism in the HR art

Black Pride and The Civil Rights Movement

An International Phenomenon

The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston

Hughes

Langston Hughes

Background of “The Negro Speaks

of Rivers”

CARL SANDBURG

WALT WHITMAN

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers”

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow

of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

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, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn

all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Analysis

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow

of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

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, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn

all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Analysis

“I've known rivers”

Analysis

I've known rivers

ancient as the

world and older

than the flow

of human

blood in human

veins.

Analysis

My soul has grown deep like the

rivers.

Analysis

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, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn

all golden in the sunset.

Analysis

“I've known rivers,

Ancient, dusky rivers.

Analysis

My soul has grown deep

like the rivers.

What it means…

The narrator argues that black identity and

accomplishment are so powerful they can cross the

gaps that slavery created, reconnecting with lost

ancestors and traditions. In this way, the poem proudly

portrays the depth of black historical experience.

Modern Artists: The Fight Lives On

Modern Artists: The Fight Lives On

Despite the gains of the Civil Rights Movements,

African Americans continue to experience racism and

discrimination. This prompted modern artists to

continue to fight for racial equality.

“May Flowers” by Carrie Mae Whims

“May Flowers” by Carrie Mae Whims

“May Flowers” by Carrie Mae Whims

“May Flowers” by Carrie Mae Whims

Works Cited:

Hughes, Langston. “ The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

1920.

The National Gallery of Arts. “African American Artists

in the Collection.”

https://www.nga.gov/features/african-american-

artists.html.