First Half of Voices from the Harlem Renaissance

When reading the short essays and poems in the first half of Voices from the Harlem Renaissance I was surprised to find that I was learning as much as I was. Even though I have learned about the African-American political and social struggles, I was only taught the historical facts about them. I was never able to look at essays and poetry from African-American writers of the period. When I had finished reading the first half of the text, I feel like I had a better understanding of exactly what the struggles of the African-American were and also what their reactions were to the treatment of African-Americans both politically and socially. 

I found the first few essays to be extremely dense, and it was hard for me to get myself in to the mindset of understanding what the issues were that were discussed. For example, in A. Philip Randolph’s “A New Crowd-A New Negro” I was surprised to find that the “old” group of activists such as Du Bois were being renounced and basically pushed aside, and this “new Negro” was emerging. This new Negro displays “…Ability, radicalism, and sincerity.” (20) which was apparent throughout the entire first half of the text.