"You got to jump at da sun."

Don't accept your limits. No one can tell you what you can't do. Be like Elphaba and defy gravity, because the only person who is in control of your destiny is you.

Zora Neale Hurston

Born in 1891, Hurston was a black writer during the Harlem Renaissance. Though she was born in Notasugla, Alabama, her family moved to Eatonville, Florida when she was very young, and that's where she lived for most of her childhood. Hurston accumulated a collection of folklore from her hometown of Eatonville, and she continued that collection by gathering tales from Jamaica, Hati, Bermuda, and Honduras. Though her most famous work was Their Eyes Were Watching God, other works of hers include: Jonah's Gourd Vine, Seraph on the Suwanee, and Dust Tracks on a Road. One of the things that made Hurston significant in the literary world was that she wasn't afraid to address issues of race and gender in her works. So, in essence, she wasn't afraid to cause a bit of controversy in the community. Zora Hurston died at the age of 59 due to heath problems that she had developed over the years. She died in poverty and she had never been fully recognized for her works in life by the literary community. About 10-15 years after her death, her works were rediscovered by another generation of black writers, one of them being Alice Walker. This rediscovery of Hurston's works lead to a republication of many of her stories and novels that had previously been overlooked. A two-volume set of her works was published in 1995, so many years after her death.

Source:"Zora Neale Hurston." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

A Whole New Kind Of Renaissance.

• The Harlem Renaissance is also known as the New Negro movement, the New Negro Renaissance, or the Negro Renaissance.

• This era started in about 1918, and lasted until the mid-1930's.

• The significance of this era was that it was the time period in which African American media producers started being taken more seriously in the world of critics.

• The movement of the Harlem Renaissance was mainly litterary, but also included parts of music, theater, art, and politics created or supported by African Americans.

• By the turn of the century, things had changed so much for african americans that a black middle class had been formed.

• In 1909, An organization called the National Association for the Advancedment of Colored People (NAACP) had been formed to protect the rights of black American citizens.

• Harlem Shadows (1992), written by African American author Claude McKay, was one of the first literary works written by a black writer to get published by a relevant, mainstream publisher.

• White novelist Carl Van Vechten's book, Nigger Heaven, did a great job of drawing out what harlem looked like, and it ended up drawing many New-Yorkers of all races to Harlem to experience the culture found there.

• The Crisis and Opportunity were two newspapers who started employing black editors early on in the Harlem Renaissance.

• The Great Depression was one of the leading causes of the end of the Harlem Renaissance, because people had less time and money to truly appreciate the arts that the black community was producing and being recognized for.

Langston Hughes

• Langston Hughes was an African American writer in the Harlem Renaissance.
• Hughes explored many different areas of literature, including plays, poetry, and short stories.
• One of the constant themes in his works was depicting the life of a citizen of Harlem, NY.
• Hughes was mostly relevant in the 1920's.
• His main genre of literature was short stories that used simple tales to tell what life was really like in Harlem.

Bessie Smith

• Bessie Smith was an African American singer in the Harlem Renaissance. 
• Bessie's nickname was the Empress of Blues.
• She recorded with hit artists such as Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong during her career.
• Smith was famous mostly in the 1920's.
• She had an emotional voice that made her very popular during the era of Blues.
• Bessie's song, St. Louis Blues, can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNWs0LsimFs

Duke Ellington

• Duke Ellington was a famous African American musician during the Harlem Renaissance. 
• Ellington was most famous for being a pianist, composer, and a band leader.
• Ellington was one of the first composers to help develop the style we now know as "big band music," which became very popular during the Harlem Renaissance.
• His orchestra was used as a sort of "workshop," as they tested out his new compositions and sounds.
• Eventually Duke's style was named "The Ellington Effect," and became very popular during that time frame.
• One of Ellington's famous compositions, Take The A Train, can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHRbEhLj54

Sources:

• All information is found on Encarta
• All pictures found on wikimedia commons

Into The Wild Final Project- Itching Feet

Song Lyrics

Long way far

From where I came

Nothing around here

Looks the same

My fears are far

And I'm finally

Living free

Can't you see?

This settled life

Has never been for me.

There's a land beyond the suburbs

And the ice cream truck summers

And this is the only way to scratch my 

Itching feet.

I'm lost

And I'm alone

Hope just seems

So far gone.

I'm starting to wish

There were more times I cared

The only happiness worth having

Is the happiness we've shared.

I'm starting to see

This settled life could have been for me

I've been missing those suburbs

And the ice cream truck summers

And I think I've finally scratched

My itching feet.

I've had a happy life

And thank the lord 

Goodbye and may

God bless all.