Aaron Douglas Chats about the Harlem Renaissance

Douglas, Aaron. "Aaron Douglas Chats about the Harlem Renaissance." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David L. Lewis. New York: Viking Penguin, 1994. 1118-27. Print.

It’s interesting to get a glimpse of what someone involved in the Renaissance felt and thought during their time producing art and literature therein. I hadn’t really considered the notion that many people of the Renaissance weren’t particularly aware of the Renaissance as we are today. Obviously, now that it has been mentioned, the effect is obvious; much like with World War I, which was not known as such until much later, many of those involved had no idea that the war they were fighting was to be a “World” war. The association that I’ve made subconsciously throughout this class of the Harlem Renaissance is one of a university or profession: it is easy to define where and what you are when you belong to organized institutions, such as saying “I am a teacher and such an such school in such a such district,” but the institution (or organization) of the Renaissance did not really become a construct until after the fact.

Douglass’ reflections on his time during the Renaissance make the whole thing a bit more humble. He was just a guy getting by and trying to make a name for himself, much as many others do every day. He took jobs that appealed to his artistic desires as well as ones that paid well, and just sort of did his thing unaware of his contributing to what would later be known as the Harlem Renaissance. I suppose my last few posts have been somewhat negative, suggesting that many of those in the Renaissance were selfish and did not represent black Americans but rather a select few. I still hold this to be true, but rather than for the selfish reasons I had stated earlier, I now believe that the individuals in the Renaissance were just doing what they did naturally and, through no real fault of their own, later became associated with the progressive movement.