“Did he really say I have to learn about the Harlem Renaissance before he marries me?”
My husband Joseph is an Artist, a very talented artist in many ways. From painting, sketch, singing, acting, and the list goes on. He can do most anything and was born with a gift that many others don’t have. This is where the title of this post became one of the most important topics of our relationship. Art and Music are important to him!
One evening, he and I were watching TV. I can’t quite remember what show was on but he brought up an artist called Langston Hughes(a famous black poet). As I sat pondering he quickly said to me “You don’t know Langston Hughes?” I thought and thought trying to figure out who he may be talking about and as he watched me ponder he said “The Harlem Renaissance? Wait, you don’t know about the Harlem Renaissance?” See I had heard about this, but I hadn’t really understood anything about it until he said a few more names. “Charlie Parker (American saxophonist), Thelonius Monk (American pianist), Dizzy Gillespie (American band leader), Aaron Douglas (American painter), and Alain LeRoy Locke(American writer). You don’t know these names?” It was embarrassing for me to admit but with a sigh I said “no I’m ashamed to say I don’t.” We had recently been engaged and were about to be married in about a month from this conversation. Then he says this, “you’ve got to learn about this or we can’t get married.” I said, “you really wouldn’t marry me unless I knew about these things?” He was serious and I could tell by the look on his face. It was important to him and what was important to him had to be important to me.
The next day I made a goal to study at least 1 thing about the Harlem Renaissance. See this wasn’t just important to him because he’s an artist. This was important to him because this is what lead the way to the music and art we have today. This was important because without the Harlem Renaissance; the US wouldn’t have thrived in regard to Music and Art.
Why was the Harlem Renaissance so important? This was a time when the creative, talented, and innovative Black Americans were able to showcase their talents for the first time! Imagine the first time you thrived in something and someone recognized you for it. This was that time for many migrants who struggled to share great talents and give the world a different view of Black Americans. This was why it was so important to my husband and now so important to me!
The word renaissance means “rebirth” in French. The great migration brought this about as many black people moved from the south and the mistreatment there to find a better life in New York City, Philly, and Detroit. This brought a wave of creative artists coming together in a black community in New York City “Harlem”. Prior to that African American Culture was looked down on. New music, dance, poetry, and art challenged that perception and changed history. Harlem became the “city within a city” and quickly people started to take notice. A few famous night clubs like Savoy Ballroom and Cotton Club attracted wealthy celebrities and people. Harlem and the Apollo Theater brought black entertainers to light. Giving them a space to share their talents like never before. Today, black culture, art, and music are mostly at the top. And just like during the Harlem Renaissance, many people don’t give recognition of where it all came from.
As I continued to study I thought about why I didn’t know any of these things. I wondered how I could have missed something in History so important. I grew up in a small town in Utah called Springville. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great childhood there but there were no black people at my school and throughout most of the area surrounding us mostly everyone looked like me (“White”). I lived in a bubble and until I moved out my home town I didn’t realize that I had not had the opportunity to learn, embrace, and know about all different types of cultures. My parents tried somewhat to educate us. They cared about all people; but it was not possible for them fully know or understand when they also grew up there and hadn’t had much exposure to different cultures or education of black history. Because it is not mandated in public schools to discuss these things in history so much of these important topics are missed and to this day continue to be missed. It is not only important to touch on black history, but also Native American, Asian-Americans, and western Europe immigrants. This will help others to promote racial equality and understand what others have gone through. The good, the bad, and the ugly all should be taught and we should learn from mistakes our white ancestors made so we can avoid making similar mistakes.
I am still learning and everyday working to educate myself about the things I may have missed growing up in a small town in Utah. I am a work in progress and everyday continue to focus on how I can learn more to help others! I challenge all of you that do not know about not only historical black moments, but historical moments of all different backgrounds and cultures! When we do this, we grow! And when we grow, we come together, talk about it, and learn from each other!
Well, I assume you know now because I call him my husband that Joseph did end up marrying me. We both talked about what I was learning throughout my journey, we laughed, we listened together, and read poetry. This gave us the ability to connect even more than before. He created this platform for us to understand each other and more of his ancestry and culture. I am so glad he gave me this challenge, because without it; I still may be in the dark about the Harlem Renaissance.
Now I’m going to go listen to some Charlie Parker, aka Bird. I highly recommend his music, specifically “Now’s The Time” if you want to hear some amazing Jazz music!
