“An artist must be free to choose what he does, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose,” quoted by Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes, a black writer, became famous during the period of the Harlem Renaissance from 1919 to the 1930’s. Because of the Harlem Renaissance African American writers began to blossom along with jazz music. As a result of the blossoming of new things, the image of African Americans began to change.

One of the many new starts for African Americans was through journalism. Langston Hughes, one of the many recognized writers durning the Renaissance wrote most of his work on the black life in America from the 20’s-60’s. “Hold Fast To Dreams,” “Life is Fine,” and “Helen Keller,” are some of his best work about the black life in Harlem. Another “new” artist was Zora Neal Hurston. Hurston was a novelist that was inspired by the study of anthropology and wrote a lot of her stories as folk tales. Her most famous piece of work is called Their Eyes Were Watching God, published 1937. During this period in time you could find some of these artist’s work on the front pages of newspapers and magazines, as well as full articles and biographies about them.

Jazz, the art of the saxophone, trumpet, bass, cello, and other instruments. The music of the Harlem Renaissance spread through America and landed in Harlem. Jazz music has an African rhythm and blues, mixed with a flare of ragtime. This fine art landed in Harlem around 1920. The most famous composers of jazz were Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong got his first trumpet when he was about 11 years of age and kept playing until the day he died. Duke Ellington was one of the most enchanting jazz musicians ever. Ellington had his own style of jazz. To him it was everything he was feeling, Every color, every note. At the time, jazz was all about improvising. That meant being able play to the general tune the main musician is playing, while making the notes up on the spot.

Yet another outcome of the Harlem Renaissance is a change of image for African Americans. For a long period of time white people did not believe that the African American people should have the same rights as they did.  Some of these things included using the same toilet as them, political rights, and social rights. During WW1 many job openings popped up and African Americans finally found their chance to prove to everyone that they should have the same rights. Their image changed from ruthless, uncivilized human beings to other people just like you and I, able to do most of the same things as we did. During this time many black people moved north for better job opportunities. This migration was called the Great Migration.

The Harlem Renaissance, an age of jazz music, new artists, and pure happiness, ended in 1929, right in time for the Great Depression. No one knew the troubles ahead of them, the pain that spread like a large grey cloud, awaiting its time for a storm that would last. One that would cause chaos and destruction.