James Baldwin

James Baldwin was a writer during the Civil Rights Movement. After leaving America because of racism and living in France for a while, he came back to join in the Civil Rights Movement. One of his books about civil rights is The Fire Next Time. The first half is a letter to his 14-year-old nephew about the 100 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and what it means to the young generation. The second half is about the Black Muslim movement. It was a best-seller in 1963, and its purpose was to rally troops of every race to fight against the evils of racism. Like other writings from the Civil Rights Movement, The Fire Next Time gave a straight-forward view of the problems in the country and why they needed to be fixed and gave a passionate voice to the Movement.

Dan Budnik

Dan Budnik is a photographer who was important in portraying the gravity of the Civil Rights Movement to Americans by convincing LIFE to let him document the Selma to Montgomery March. His photography caught the nation's attention and showed the real situation at hand, allowing people to know the truth about the Civil Rights Movement and its importance and effects. Four months after the march, Lyndon Johnson and Congress had signed the Voting Rights Act into law, making voter discrimination illegal.

Richie Havens

Richie Havens is a folk/rock musician that was prominent during the 1960's-1970's. He rose to fame in the Greenwich Village music scene when it was a center of the counter-culture, with such artists as Joan Boaz and, of course, Bob Dylan. His unique style of guitar playing set him apart from other folk guitar players. He was not directly involved a whole lot with the political side of the Civil Rights Movement, but he wrote anti-racism songs and such. One of these is called "The Klan." Richie Havens is most famous for being the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock Festival where he along with other legendary artists like Ravi Shankar, Santana, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Jimi Hendrix, and a crowd of 200,000 demonstrated the power of music to promote peace and tolerance. Here is a video of him playing a cover of John Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever" at the festival:

Jessie Redmon Fauset

Jessie Redmon Fauset was an important writer and editor during the Harlem Renaissance. She is famous for being the literary editor of The Crisis (The NAACP's official magazine) along with W.E.B. Du Bois during its greatest time of literary achievement. It was Jessie Redmon Fauset who helped Langston Hughes' career by publishing his work in The Crisis. She also published her own works in the magazine and wrote four novels, all which were about upper-middle class black families much like her own. Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral is about a young girl who was able to pass as white because of her light skin. She realizes that being white alone will not bring her happiness, as she is still limited because she is a woman. This coming-of-age book was an important product of The Harlem Renaissance that criticized racism and sexism and used characteristics of the fantasy and romance genres, making it fit well into the ideals of the age.

Archibald Motley

Archibald Motley lived in Chicago, but he was one of the most important Harlem Renaissance painters, since he had many galleries in New York and paintings set there. They captured the life and energy of the New York Jazz Scene, though he infused some European style that he picked up on a trip to Paris. He often concentrated on skin tone and how it affected how one was perceived and the type of life they would have; this fascination was in many ways caused by the unfavorable reaction in both the African American and Caucasian communities about his marriage to a white woman.

His painting entitled "Nightlife" is pictured to the left. Archibald Motley completed it upon his return from Paris. It shows the Jazz Age and the new culture of the Harlem Renaissance. He wanted to portray black Americans in a new way, enjoying their own music scene and living a life of fun, beauty, and extravagance. "Nightlife" is a portrait of the Harlem Renaissance itself--it includes every ideal of the time period--the music, the thriving nightlife, the artistic experimentation, and a new life for the black community.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was the most famous poet of the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote in a style that used rhythm similar to that of jazz and blues music. His writings encouraged racial pride; an example is his poem first published in 1923 titled "My People:"

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people
Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

He once said, "My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind." He believed in a diverse and special culture for black Americans, rather than assimilation. His poetry was very politically minded, making him associated with the Communist Party at times, and filled with the culture, rhythm, and ideals specific to the Harlem Renaissance, but it was well-loved by all types of Americans.

James P. Johnson

James P. Johnson was an influential jazz/ragtime piano player and composer during the Harlem Renaissance. He originated what is known as the Stride style of piano playing.

His biggest hit was "Charleston," a jazz song made for the dance of the same name.

The Charleston embodied the Harlem Renaissance, and its popularity spread throughout all communities during the Roaring Twenties, making black culture become part of the lives of all Americans. James P. Johnson died in 1955, after inspiring countless other musicians including Duke Ellington and Count Basie.