Post by mcozine on Dec 11, 2013 20:59:20 GMT
The overarching goal of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance was to gain equality within their communities. They wanted to show the white men, that even though they were not treated equality they were still going to make it in their towns....such as Louis Armstrong and his jazz movement. He may not have been allowed to eat or drink at the Cotton café, but he was allowed to play and his music brought people of all different races together. The Harlem Renaissance was the switch or rebirth from being so involved with slavery and changing from the mindset of slaves to the mindset of free American citizens. The African Americans wanted to grow as a race and their movement of the Harlem renaissance helped to bring people together.
Given the changes in African-American culture in the 1920’s, the Civil Rights movement would not take place until the 1950's because during the 1920's racism still ran rapid. Many people still thought of African Americans as slaves. Their goals in the 1920's revolved around more than just gaining equality. They were learning how to live educated and purposeful lives and most African Americans knew that racism would never die. However, in the 1950s more people were further away from slavery and were more educated so they wanted equality more than the people in the 1920's. Young people were more open to change than the older people were, and when they grew up, their want for equality took on more of a precedent.