Modern American Literature: The Harlem Renaissance

Race: Just Another Color, Or Everything That Matters?

There is no subject more controversial than racism and the theory of how race and identity are connected. The Harlem Renaissance was a time for African Americans to explore the issues dealing with their race. During this period Claude McKay and Zora Neale Hurston were just two of the leading writers in this sweeping literary movement. McKay wrote some of the most influential and disturbing works of the Harlem Renaissance, calling all African Americans to revolt against the system of class and racism in America, while Hurston took an entirely different route, writing about her own identity as something separate from her race.

McKay wrote many moving and insightful works intended to force Americans to open their eyes to the horror of racism in America. In her poem The Lynching, she paints a vivid picture of an African American being hanged while others stand around and watch, symbolizing the relationship between African Americans and whites during this time. Although slavery no longer existed, African Americans were still being attacked and discriminated against because of their race, and the degradation they felt in their own society was a cause of enjoyment and humor for the whites. Mckay makes her point when she writes, "The women thronged to look, but never a one/showed sorrow in her eyes of steely blue;/And little lads, lynchers that were to be,/ Danced round the dreadful thing in glee (2085). This reveals the whites to be an evil, soulless group, just waiting for the next African American to die, which in McKay's writings is how whites are generally portrayed.

Beyond this idea of the relationship between whites and African Americans lies the true message of this poem, which is that African Americans are being too complacent in society. McKay wrote to inspire her people to fight back against those that tried to push them down, because this was the only way they could ever be free from the power of racism. She introduces this theory by writing, "His Spirit in smoke ascended to high heaven,/His father, by the cruelest way of pain,/Had bidden him to his bosom once again;/The awful sin remained still unforgiven (2084). "His father" refers to God, who he is going to join in heaven after being most likely burned to death. The unforgiven sin refers to the sin of what the whites have done to him and to his people, but it also refers to the sin of African Americans. McKay is making the argument that her people have not fought hard enough against the whites, which in itself is a sin because to not fight is to give in the oppressors, which is unforgivable. McKay is trying to force her fellow African Americans to begin the necessary revolution against white society, because this is the only way that they can get back their dignity and self-respect.

Zora Neale Hurston, while also a writer during the Harlem Renaissance, has very different works that that of McKay. Her style is entirely different; instead of arguing about the necessity of fighting against racism like McKay, Hurston writes of her race as if it is just one section of herself which does not define her. She claims that being an African American is not in itself an injustice, but actually a gift. She takes it as a thrilling challenge in the story How It Feels To Be Colored Me when she says, "The game of keeping what one has is never so exciting as the game of getting" (2099). She goes further to analyze her feelings about race by stating, "I have seen the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less. No, I do not weep at the world-I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife" (2098). With these quotes Hurston sets up the theme of her story; race should not be an impediment to a person's success, but merely an incentive to work harder at being strong and successful in life.

Although Hurston doesn't feel that race should define a person, she does agree that it contributes to personality. She shows how her race makes her more in touch with the primitiveness laying under a disguise of civility when she writes, "This orchestra grows rambunctious, rears on its hind legs and attacks the tonal veil with primitive fury, rendering it, clawing it until it breaks though to the jungle beyond" (2099). This quote depicts a feeling that white people can never be in touch with because any primitiveness they might have is buried underneath too many layers of civil society, while African Americans are still in tune with the forces of nature inside them. The music she writes about is a symbol for the animal feelings of anger and aggression she has inside of her, which in her mind are not a hindrance, but an essential and beautiful part of her identity, which she could not envision living without.

McKay and Hurston are two of the leading writers of the Harlem Renaissance with extremely different ideas and themes. While McKay argues for a revolution against a racist society, Hurston fights for a sense of identity which is not all-encompassed by her race. Both writers contribute to the strength of the Harlem Renaissance, and to the empowerment of their people, whether through fighting against racism, or fighting to understand its pathetic meaninglessness. One thing that they both agree on is that African Americans need to be stronger than anyone else because that is the only way they can succeed and thrive in life.