Josephine Baker - Black is Beautiful

This video is a short biography about Josephine Baker and her dancing. Josephine Baker explored new ways of dancing, ways of the future. She is important because she was one of the first black women to become famous and make "tan skin fashionable".

I think Josephine Bakers dancing fits the Harlem Renaissance theme of Pride. She worked hard and became famous despite the oppression against her people. She must have gained a lot of satisfaction from her accomplishments. The moves were also energetic and she seemed so happy doing them.

I chose this video showing Josephine Baker dancing because I think she is a really inspirational woman who opened up so many ideas and doors in the dancing world. Baker explored new, exciting ways of dancing and proved that it doesn't matter what one's skin color is, it's their skills and determination.

Langston Hughes

February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops

Let the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk

The rain makes running pools in the gutter

The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night 

And I love the rain.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri but lived with is grandmother  in Kansas for most of his childhood. His grandmother was a strong believer in racial pride and passed this on to Hughes who, although he appreciated his grandmother, grew up with a sense of rejection because he didn't live with his parents. After his grandmother passed, he moved around living with his mother and step-father and occasionally his father although they didn't get along. In his eighth grade class Hughes was named class poet and throughout high school continued to write and eventually became recognized for his poems. After highschool, Hughes attended Columbia University for a year where he furthered his writing skills and began exploring ideas of the Harlem Renaissance and using rhthym and blues in his poetry. Later hughes attended Lincoln University where he had work published and earned his B.A. Hughes worked hard to depict lower class black communities in his poems and tried to steer away from prejudices formed on skin color. He was a firm believer in "Black is Beautiful" and wrote poems that explored black community and inspired many. Hughes became and acclaimed poet and author and wrote famous works about African American life and culture. I think Langston Hughes is an amazing poet. He grew up as a African American, Homosexual man and fought through the struggles of that to become a very well known poet. He must have worked very hard and in the end his work paid off because he was able to express himself. I admire him and his work and feel that he has many beautiful poems about the Harlem Renaissance, and African American culture in general.  http://www.kansasheritage.org/crossingboundaries/page6e1.html http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/april-rain-song/ http://www.geh.org/ar/strip18/htmlsrc/m197701891477_ful.html

Romare Bearden

This collage titled Out Chorus by Romare Bearden shows a group of African American men playing various jazz instruments together. Bearden played with texture and color in order to create an almost jazzy feel to this piece. It is a reflection of not only Harlem Renaissance visual art, but also music and the exploration of  combining art forms. 

Looking at this piece, various Harlem Renaissance themes come to mind such as pride and identification with race. This group of men portrayed in the piece seem to be happily be playing their instruments and most likely feeling a sense of pride about it. It relects identifaction with race because as you can see they are all coming together in a group and identifying with each other through music and culture. 

I chose this piece at first because I like all the texture and how in the back it almost feels like the red circular texture is the jazzy music being played.  Aside from finding it aesthetically pleasing, I also think it is good reflection of Harlem Renaissance artwork.

I really like this piece. I think it's pleasing to the eye and the fact that it's a collage makes it much more interesting to me. I think this piece is well done and a good example of Harlem Renaissance art.

http://faculty.dwc.edu/wellman/black_collage_in_the_arts.htm

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