Poetry for Students, Volume 31

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The Harlem Renaissance
Toomer is often described as an important figure
in the movement known as the Harlem Renais-
sance. Darwin T. Turner, in his introduction to
Cane, says Toomer’s book was a ‘‘harbinger’’ of
the renaissance and its ‘‘literary masterpiece.’’
Originally referred to as the Negro Renaissance,
the Harlem Renaissance took its name from an
African American section of New York City
known in the 1920s for its energy, as in its night-
clubs and jazz, and for its black artists, writers,
and intellectuals. The renaissance overlapped
with the more political New Negro Movement,
through which advocates sought to improve
the social situation for African Americans, but
the Harlem Renaissance is usually seen predom-
inantly as a cultural phenomenon, whose leading
figures included the writers Langston Hughes
and Countee Cullen.

Jim Crow Laws and the Situation
of African Americans
In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, dur-
ing Reconstruction, African Americans for a brief
period benefited from the political situation and

found they had opportunities to hold high political

office. Jean Toomer’s own grandfather, P. B. S.

Pinchback, was able to become acting governor of

Louisiana. However, by the end of the nineteenth

century the situation was changing dramatically.

What were known as Jim Crow laws, introducing

racial segregation and discrimination, were passed

and ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court.

The voting rights of African Americans were

eroded, the antiblack Ku Klux Klan was revived,

and lynchings of black men became common. In

the early twentieth century, a great migration of

African Americans from the rural South to the

cities of the North led to antiblack riots in Chi-

cago, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. Toomer

wrote an article about the Washington riots for

the radical newspaperNew York Callin which he

supported black resistance to the rioters and

criticized the injustices suffered by African Amer-

icans. In Cane itself, Toomer presents many

instances of the suffering of African Americans

and the violence perpetrated against them.

Modernism

Literary modernism, which took shape after

World War I, partly as a result of the psycholog-

ical effects of the war, is associated with writers

COMPARE

&

CONTRAST

 1920s:Discrimination against African Amer-

icans, in the form of segregation, denial of

voting rights, lynchings, and other wrongs

and atrocities, is on the rise.

Today:After the work of the civil rights

movement, the introduction of affirmative

action programs, and the election of an Afri-

can American president, some say discrimi-

nation is becoming a thing of the past.

 1920s:The teachings of spiritual mystics like

George Gurdjieff and the Theosophists begin

to gain some currency, leading some cultural

figures like Toomer to emphasize the need for

personal development.

Today:New Age spirituality, a late-twentieth-

century decentralized movement featuring

interest in alternative medicine, astrology, and

physical practices such as yoga and tai chi,

leads to broader cultural emphasis on ‘‘holis-

tic’’ health and development.

1920s:Traditional folk songs and spirituals

give way to jazz and blues in the African

American community, and these new musical

forms gain popularity in the larger society.

Today:Musical forms such as rap and hip

hop, which originated in the African Amer-

ican community, are widely popular.

Storm Ending