NEH Summer Teacher Institute 2004 Final Lessons

African-American Art & Identity in the 1920s

Amy J. Arnsten

Grade level: High School

Discipline: American History

Standards addressed:

State of California History & Social Sciences Framework11.5 Students analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.

Analyze the international and domestic events, interests, and philosophies that prompted attacks on civil liberties, including the Palmer Raids, Marcus Garvey's "back-to-Africa" movement, the Ku Klux Klan, and immigration quotas and the responses of organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Anti-Defamation League to those attacks.
Describe the Harlem Renaissance and new trends in literature, music, and art, with special attention to the work of writers (e.g., Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes).

Objectives:

To analyze two images of the New Negro presented in two Harlem Renaissance songs.
To analyze the image of the New Negro in artwork, poetry and pictures and synthesize with the image presented in the songs.
To create a poster presenting and expressing the dual image of the New Negro of the Harlem Renaissance.

Resources

Song(s) used in lesson:

"(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue," by Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, Harry Brooks, 1929. Voices Across Time 6.30.

“Brown” by Jo’ Trent fromthe musical Rang Tang. Lyrics currently unavailable on-line.

Poems:

Dream Variation by Langston Hughes. http://www.cs.memphis.edu/~ramamurt/gems/gem321.html

The Lynching by Claude McKay. http://www.poetry-archive.com/m/the_lynching.html

My Race by Helene Johnson. http://www.ctadams.com/helenejohnson9.html

The White Ones by Langston Hughes. http://www.blueson.se/lyriklangstonhughes.htm

America by Claude McKay http://www.nku.edu/~diesmanj/mckay.html#america

From the Dark Tower by Countee Cullern. http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~wilker/harlem/flamefrom.htm

Artwork:

Into Bondage by Aaron Douglas. http://www.iniva.org/harlem/aaron.html

The Janitor who Paints by Palmer Hayden http://www.cc.colorado.edu/Dept/EN/Courses/EN370/EN3707117Garcia/VisualArt/Janitor.html

Blues by Archibald Motley, Jr. http://www.iniva.org/harlem/motley.html

Café by William H. Johnson http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/art/pages/galjohnson2.htm

African Fantasy by Winold Reiss http://americanart.si.edu/index3.cfm

A Negro Speaks of Rivers (illustration for Langston Hughes’s poem) by Aaron Douglas http://eev.liu.edu/eevillage/HeckscherWOE/exhibit9.htm

Images:

The Crisis: http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/text/crisis23_slide.html

Children in the Silent Protest Parade: http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/text/children_slide.html

Florence Mills. http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/text/fmills_slide.html

Augusta Fells Savage. http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/text/asavage_slide.html

The Northeasterners http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/text/northeasterners_slide.html

Marcus Garvey http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/text/garvey_slide.html

Reference Resources:

Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words from the Harlem Renaissance CD set & accompanying booklet, produced by Shawn Amos, Rhino Entertainment Company, 2000.
The Harlem Renaissance, National Center for History in the Schools, http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/

Song History

“(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue”. See Voices Across Time 6.30.
“Brown” was performed in the musical Rang Tang, identified in the Internet Broadway Database as “original, musical, revue”. The show apparently opened July 12, 1927 at the Royale Theatre and the Majestic Theatre in September, 1927. Closing dates for both are unknown. Total performances are listed as 119. It was produced by Merrs. Walker & Kavanaugh, book by Kaj Gynt, Lyrics by Jo Trent (female). The show was directed by Charles Dvais and Miller & Lyles. The Opening Night Case included May Barnes, George Battles, Inez Draw, Josephine Hall, Daniel Haynes, Crawford Jackson, Josephine Jackson, Zeidee Jackson, A. Lyles, Lavinia Mack, Marie Mahood, F.E. Miller, Eveyln Preer, Le’etta Revells, James Strange, Edwarde Thompson, and Lillian Westmoreland.

Never crave for riches,

But I know where bliss is,

Sunshine just lives in my smile,

Some folks criticize me,

Others idolize me,

I know what makes life worthwhile.

Chorus

I’m brown, my hair is curly,

Jes’ brown with teeth so pearly,

In style I’m neat, my color won’t fade,

Tho’ folks try to copy my delicate shade;

My skin is smooth as velvet,

And all you see is real.

Jolly eyes, sunny smiles,

Trail behind me for miles,

I’m satisfied I’m brown.

Procedure

(2 class periods)

Ask: What images come to mind with the term “Harlem”?
Note student responses, create a list on the board.
Present brief overview of Harlem Renaissance, tying into the responses as possible.Particularly describe the explosion of African American arts and culture in the larger context of racist America.
Explain briefly the activity: In groups they will be analyzing two selections of music representing the African American experience, and finding examples in art, image and poetry that connects to those musical works, and with those examples create a poster that expresses the dual perspectives on the African American experience in the 1920s.
Distribute handout (see below), review activity in detail.
Have students get into groups of 3-4. Allow students to work through questions and activities, monitoring their progress.
When the song has been analyzed and the relevant selections made students create a poster following the specific guidelines.
Posters are displayed around the room and all students review all posters.
Follow-up discussion on why each group selected their specific works, challenges to the assignment, and understanding of the African American experience.

Song discussion questions and activities:

"(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue"

What is the mood of this song?
What does this suggest about the status of African Americans? What is the overall theme of this song?
How does the music contribute to this theme?
What social and cultural conditions in the 1920s support this attitude?

"Brown"

What is the mood of this song?
What does the composer suggest when she says ‘I know what makes life worthwhile’?
What is the overall theme of this song?
What type of music would you expect to accompany these lyrics?

Follow-up learning activities:

Review of posters
Follow-up discussion.

Assessment

Formal evaluation of poster Informal evaluation of group work and discussion
Assessable product or performance
Poster Participation in discussions
Assessment criteria and performance descriptors

The poster will be evaluated on the following criteria, along with a description of expectations for each:

1. Analysis & Connections

Understanding of the dual perception of the African American experience of the 1920s is conveyed through the analytical explanation of the song lyrics
The explanations and connections of the accompanying poem, image and art convey an understanding of several dominant elements or principles used by the creator
The explanations and connections of the poem, image and art are related to the theme, meaning, mood or feeling of the song lyrics

2. Completeness

Has the two song lyrics along with an analytical explanation of each
Each song lyric has a poem, image and piece of artwork
Each poem, image and piece of artwork has three statements analyzing and making connections to the song lyric
The poster has a creative and descriptive title

3. Visual Appeal

The two perspectives are clearly delineated on the poster
Layout, design and neatness are all exceptional
May have extras to enhance to appearance and understanding of the work

4. Mechanics

All written expression is clear Spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct

The ‘New Negro’ of the Harlem Renaissance

Overview:

Together with your small group you will analyze two songs of 1927: "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" and "Brown." After identifying key aspects of the sense of black identity conveyed in those works review the six poems, six pieces of art, and six images. Select one poem, one piece of art, one image to accompany each song. Arrange the songs and accompanying cultural artifacts on a poster, along with a brief explanation of connection.

Activity in Detail:

1. In your groups look at each poem in turn. Discuss the following questions and individually make note of your discussion.

"(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue"

What is the mood of this song?
What does this suggest about the status of African Americans?
What is the overall theme of this song?
How does the music contribute to this theme?
What social and cultural conditions in the 1920s support this attitude?

"Brown"

What is the mood of this song?
What does the composer suggest when she writes ‘I know what makes life worthwhile’?
What is the overall theme of this song?
What type of music would you expect to accompany these lyrics?
What social and cultural conditions in the 1920s support this attitude?

2. Write a short statement describing the sense of African American identity conveyed in this work.

3. Review the packet of resources. Select one (1) piece of artwork, one (1) poem and one (1) picture to accompany each poem.

4. For each selection write out three (3) reasons why this selection is an appropriate accompaniment to the song, demonstrating an analytical understanding of the song lyrics and the selection.

5. Put it all together on a poster. The poster will be in two parts, corresponding to the two songs. Each part must include the lyrics, statement based on the lyrics, artwork & explanation, poem & explanation, picture & explanation. Follow these guidelines for creating the poster:

The poster must have an original title.
It must be complete.
It must convey scholarly analysis of the selections and connections to African American identity.
It must be neat and visually appealing.

In addition, the poster may have the following:

Extra enhancements to further convey the identity of each section

	Exemplary	Basic	Below Basic
CONTENT	Contains 5 items from article	Contains 3 items from article	Contains fewer than 3 items from article
LENGTH	5-8 minutes	Less than 5 minutes	Less than 3 minutes
ORGANIZATION	Clear progression of ideas; point clearly stated	Uneven progression of ideas; point obscure	Lack of structure or point
PRESENTATION	All group members participate and are prepared	Unequal participation; members not prepared	Not all members participate; unprepared