IndexIntroductionAn introduction to the Harlem RenaissanceThe brief biography of Claude McKay and his influence on the Harlem Renaissance movementDiscussionConclusionReferencesIntroductionAn introduction to the Harlem RenaissanceCreative and intellectual life flourished in the communities African Americans in the Northern and Midwestern regions of the United States in the 1920s, but especially in Harlem. The New York neighborhood, just three square miles away, is full of Black artists, scholars, poets and musicians. Some of the century's most important literary and cultural figures moved to or entered the "Black Capital of the World," helping to describe an era in which African American artists recaptured their heritage and ethnic pride despite systemic prejudice and discrimination. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe origins of the Harlem Renaissance date back to the Great Migration of the early 20th century, when hundreds of thousands of blacks migrated from the South to dense urban areas that offered relatively greater economic opportunity and cultural capital. It was, in the words of editor, journalist, and critic Alain Locke, “a spiritual coming of age” for African American artists and thinkers who took advantage of their “first chances for group expression and self-determination.” Harlem Renaissance poets such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Georgia Douglas Johnson explored the beauty and pain of black life, sought to define themselves and their community outside of white stereotypes. Harlem Renaissance poetry represented a variety of forms and topics. Many authors, such as Claude McKay, used historically European forms – the sonnet was one of them – with a radical message of protest, as in “If We Must Die”. Others, including James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes, specifically made black cultural innovations in their writings, infusing their poems with ragtime, jazz, and blues rhythms. The Brief Biography of Claude McKay and His Influence on the Harlem Renaissance Movement Festus Claudius McKay, or commonly known as Claude McKay, was born in Sunny Ville, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, on September 15, 1889. McKay blended his African style with pride in his passion for British literature. He studied literature and philosophy with Walter Jekyll, an Englishman, who inspired the young man to begin producing poetry in his Jamaican dialect. In 1912, McKay's first novels in verse, "Songs of Jamaica" and "Constab Ballads", were published by the London Publishing House. McKay used funds obtained from the Jamaican Institute of Arts and Sciences to travel to the United States. For a minimum of two years, he studied at the Tuskegee Institution (now Tuskegee University) and Kansas State College. He moved to New York City in 1914 to live in Harlem. During the Harlem Renaissance, he established himself as a literary advocate for social justice. He is renowned for his books, essays and poems, including "If We Must Die" and "Harlem Shadows." In the 1920s, McKay became interested in communism and traveled to Russia and then France. In 1934, McKay returned to the United States and lived in Harlem, New York, and in 1940 he completely retreated from Communism and turned his attention to the teachings of various Harlem spiritual and political leaders. He eventually embraced Catholicism and officially became an American citizen. His experience working with Catholic aid organizations in New York inspired a new collection of essays, "Harlem: Negro Metropolis," which offered observations and analysis of the African-American community of the time in Harlem. .McKay's views and poetic achievements in the firstpart of the twentieth century set the tone for the Harlem Renaissance and earned the deep respect of the era's younger black poets, including LangstonHughes. McKay died of a heart attack on May 22, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois. In this essay we will know what the poem is about and what are the problems of black people based on the poem. Claude McKay's "Enslaved" discussion described Culture as a tool of oppression and resistance. In this poem, McKay reveals how they failed to achieve goals such as equality and gradually tried to stop racism. The poem also reveals that the black race is capable of doing things that white people can do and prove that they too are human. The poem “Enslaved” has a broader scope in time; from the time of slavery to the time the poem was composed. This poem begins with McKay's contemplation of the fate of blacks in America who have been "despised" and "oppressed" for centuries: Oh, when I think of my suffering race, for centuries despised, oppressed, with this McKay wanted I make a brief description of the past of this breed, which is unfortunately true. This race was oppressed and enslaved by white men, and by now they had a little more freedom, but now they had to deal with racism. Slaves and lynched, denied a human place In the great line of life of the Christian West; In verses three and four, McKay points out that monoculture and the ethnocentric Western party have provided no space for blacks. Western culture, which is presented as a "Christian West", is more than likely referring to the religious superiority typical of European colonizers. This verse serves to remind the reader that the racist tradition of the world McKay has lived in is not isolated to him. , nor his neighbors, nor his country. This is a long tradition of hatred, oppression and slavery that has lasted for many “tired centuries”. Here we can see how power inequality can be maintained through culture. McKay later argued that Western invaders had caused blacks to lose their homes: And in the Black Land disinherited, robbed in the ancient country where they were born, my heart grows sick with hate, becomes like lead, therefore the my race that has no home on earth. McKay's choice of words here is very cautious. “The Black Earth disinherited” is a phrase with profound meaning. In particular, the term “disinherited” refers to the injustices of colonial policy. Usually, to disinherit someone from ownership of land, the disinheritor will personally own the land. Therefore, to disinherit the “Black Land,” Western colonialism must claim ownership. McKay argues that the home of black people – whether in his native Jamaica, in countries in Africa, or wherever they have migrated to in Europe or North America – has been taken away from them and the door closed forever. he is now disgusted by the weight of an intolerable hatred. They are despised, they have developed contempt and they feel it when they think of the home that was brutally and painfully taken from them. Then from the dark depths of my soul I cry out to the avenging angel to completely consume the white man's world of wonder: Let him be swallowed up in the vast womb of the earth, or roll upward like sacrificial smoke to deliver my people from their yoke! At the end of the verse "Schiavato", he begins to move from pure contemplation to frustration. We can see the passage of pain and the speaker is able to adequately express their hatred. The speaker also wants the existence of the oppressors to be completely destroyed from the “womb” of the earth or evaporate as “sacrificial smoke” for their citizens to be liberated. He wants to help his people, to be listened to, to give freedom and hope for their race. The voice of this one/.