History says the Harlem Renaissance was just a magical explosion of art. That is a lie.
It was actually a highly calculated, heavily funded cultural heist.
In the 1920s, Black Harlem didn't just entertain the world, they outsmarted the world. From building an independent real estate mecca and finessing white patrons out of thousands in cash, to ambushing elite white publishers and hijacking national radio wires.
They took the raw reality of Black life, turned it into high art.
Sources:
Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto by Gilbert Osofsky
Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 by Cameron McWhirter
The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart
Duke Ellington's America by Harvey G. Cohen
Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd
The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the Era by Bruce Kellner
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