CHAPTER 17



CHAPTER 17

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE 1920s, 1915-1928

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The 1920s saw a resurgence and increase in white racism. Intellectuals supported theories describing blacks as inferior, and the general white public flocked to see the film The Birth of a Nation. The film, depicting blacks as either stupid or criminal in Reconstruction South Carolina, grew alongside the growth of the Ku Klux Klan. The 1920s KKK expanded its lists of hatreds to include immigrants, Jews, and Catholics, along with blacks, but stepped into mainstream politics with a huge membership and following. As before, blacks had many different responses. The NAACP expanded and continued its attempts to chip away at racism through the legal and political system. New leaders also emerged. Marcus Garvey attracted large numbers of loyal followers by preaching black pride and self-sufficiency. He also supported a movement back to Africa, although it never really materialized. Garvey was castigated by both other prominent black leaders as well as the government, who eventually had him deported. Blacks in industrial occupations responded to discrimination and poor working conditions by attempting to form labor unions, like the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, to improve their working lives. In addition to efforts in civil rights and labor issues, the twenties saw an explosion of literature and art among blacks, centered in Harlem. The Harlem Renaissance, however, failed to unite blacks. Some thought the purpose of literature should be to present a positive view of blacks to improve race relations while others focused on a more accurate, realistic portrayal of black life. Black music, namely jazz, became immensely popular, as whites flocked to the Cotton Club for lavish productions and famous names. Black sports figures were not as fortunate as their artistic counterparts in recognition, as they continued to experience exclusion for the most part from professional sports and discrimination at the amateur level.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understand the atmosphere of increased racism during the 1920s affecting black

Americans.

2. Understand the varieties of tactics employed by blacks to improve their situation in the

1920s, including the actions of the NAACP, Marcus Garvey, and Pan-Africanism.

3. Understand the difficulties and the organizing of working-class blacks.

4. Understand the characteristics and the important works, authors, and artists, of the

Harlem Renaissance.

5. Understand the role of blacks in sports during the 1920s, as well as the difficulties they

faced.

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