Social Thought
The goals that African Americans had during the Harlem Renaissance were to show that African Americans were capable as an individual. They wanted to provide a positive self-image for Negroes. The Harlem Renaissance period depicted the African Americans as individuals who were capable of making great achievements if given the opportunity.
The Harlem Renaissance was the first period in the history of the United States in which a group of black poets, authors, and writers took the opportunity to express themselves. What conditions lead to this situation? 1) Contact with other blacks from different parts of the world gave them a renewed sense of self-respect and 2) Mass migration of African Americans from the South to major Northern areas…one which was Harlem!
What does the term renaissance mean? The dictionary definition is “a rebirth or revival of literary ideas”. So technically the term Harlem Renaissance doesn’t qualify as a “renaissance” but because no prior time in American History had a group of African Americans attempted to make any progress in major literary contributions the name has justification to be known as the “Harlem Renaissance”.

sources cited:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/2/78.02.08.x.html http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/2/78.02.08.x.html
http://www.42explore2.com/harlem.html
http://www.42explore2.com/harlem.htm
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Kaleigh L.