The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement from the 1920's to the early 1930's that was centered on the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The Harlem Renaissance was also known as the New Negro movement; the Harlem Renaissance emerged towards the end of World War I in 1918. It blossomed in the mid 1920's, and then faded in the mid 1930's. The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously and that African American literature and arts attracted significant attention. Although it was primarily a literary movement, it was closely related to developments in African American music, theater, art, and politics.

One the greatest African American intellectual and civil rights activist of the twentieth century was W.E.B. Du Bois. W.E.B. Du Bois played an important role in the Harlem renaissance, by providing guidance, inspiration...