A Kaleidoscopic View
of the
HARLEM RENAISSANCE
Jenai Jenkins, PhD
A.N. Pritzker Elementary School
General Music & Band
Arts Liaison, Pritzker School
Lead Arts Liaison, Network 5
[email protected]
Offering multiple points of entrance for
learning, understanding and experiencing
this era.
Music
Art
Harlem
Renaissance
Poetry
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
The Interdisciplinary Approach
Explained
Identify a
common
thread--a
common
work of art
among
different
subjects
Draw out as
many facets
as possible
and explore
them
Instructors
must
maintain
“integrity”
among the
disciplines
The Interdisciplinary Approach is
Not . . .
• “Subservient” Integration
– Most common in teaching
– Spice up other subjects
• “Affective” Integration
– encourages introspection of feelings and
possibly a response through a visual
representation
• “Social” Integration
– provides social functions for the school and
community
(Bresler, 1995)
The Interdisciplinary Approach
is Synonymous with
“Co-Equal” Integration
•
•
•
•
Most difficult to employ
Least common
Advocated by scholarly literature
The music content might be incorporated to
place a social event in a history lesson
• Requires more preparation, more fine arts
knowledge and/or skill, and a higher degree of
curriculum development
• Additional training is advised for optimal
instruction
(Bresler, 1995)
“Integrity” Among the Disciplines
Defined
Natural
connections
between
subjects
Equal
attention to
all subjects
addressed
Facets Model Template
Barrett, McCoy & Veblen 1997
Who created it?
When and where
was it created?
What does it sound
or look like?
What kind of form
or structure does it have?
What techniques did
its creator use to help us
understand what is being
expressed?
The
Facets
Model
Why and for whom
was it created?
What is its subject?
What is being
expressed?
*Explores the origin of the work, its components and form, and
its expressive meanings.
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
How does a teacher create a classroom
environment for connections?
Choose works to study that are rich and
multidimensional
Plan for repeated encounters with these
works
Give students instructional openings to form
and describe meaningful connections
A Kaleidoscopic View of the
HARLEM RENAISSANCE
Smith
Lawrence
Harlem
Renaissance
Hughes
The Harlem Renaissance:
A Definition
A time period in history that saw
a rebirth of African American
art forms.
J. N. Jenkins, CPS Music Teacher
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
The Harlem Renaissance
• Began around 1915 when B.T.Washington
died.
• Its beginning parallels the beginning of the
Great Migration.
• Initially a literary movement.
• Represents a rebirth of African American
art forms.
(Brown: unsung hero of African American Poetry & Harvard University Professor)
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Washwoman’s Blues
Bessie Smith/Spencer Williams
All day long I’m slavin’, all day long I’m bustin’ suds
All day long I’m slavin’, all day long I’m bustin’ suds
Gee, my hands are tired, washin’ out these dirty duds
Lord, I do more work than forty-leven Gold Dust Twins
Lord, I do more work than forty-leven Gold Dust Twins
Got myself a achin’ from my head down to my shins
Sorry I do washin’ just to make my livelihood
Sorry I do washin’ just to make my livelihood
Oh, the washwoman’s life, it ain’t a bit of good
Rather be a scullion cookin’ in some white folks’ yard
Rather be a scullion cookin’ in some white folks’ yard
I could eat a plenty, wouldn’t have to work so hard
Me and my ole washboard sho’ do have some cares and woes
Me and my ole washboard sho do have some cares and woes
In the muddy water, wringin’ out these dirty clothes.
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Washwoman’s Blues – Bessie Smith
The Facets Model
*Creator:
•Bessie Smith
1894?-1937
*What does it
sound like?
*When/Where:
•1924/Harlem
•Slow, minor,
bending of tones, blues
Why/For Whom:
Structure/Form:
Wash
Woman’s
Blues
•Simple AAB
Form,
3-line stanzas
*Techniques Used:
•High pitched instrument; slow
swinging rhythm; tone bending;
slang dialect; saxophone in a
call & response conversation
commiserates with the woman;
piano in the background
sympathizing; irony;
personification
•A political act to call
attention to injustice/
The American public
Subject:
•Hardworking, African
Am. Woman
What’s Being
Expressed:
•Fatigue, misery,
constraint
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Barrett, McCoy & Veblen 1997
Music Techniques Used
High pitched instrument
slow swinging rhythm
tone bending slang dialect;
saxophone in a call & response
conversation commiserates with the
woman;
piano in the background sympathizing
---Natl Stand #6
*irony;
Personification
---Natl Stand #8
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Description of Blues Music
Blues Music
• Expresses the hurt and pain of an individual
• Sung by one person
• Uses a secular theme
• Usually employs the technique of “irony”
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Where is the irony in this verse of
Washwoman’s Blues?
Sorry I do washin’ just to make my livelihood
Sorry I do washin’ just to make my livelihood
Oh, the washwoman’s life, it ain’t a bit of good
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
A few notes about Bessie Smith
Known as the “Empress of the Blues”
(1894-1937)
She was known for bending tones
for expressive purposes.
In the mid-1920’s she toured the entire south and was the
highest paid Black entertainer in the country at the time.
She earned about $1500 a week during the time her
records were at the top of the charts. (Today’s equivalent
value is approximately $14,000 per week.)
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Madam and Her Madam
by Langston Hughes
I worked for a woman,
She wasn’t mean—
But she had a twelve-room
House to clean.
Had to get breakfast,
Dinner and supper, too—
Then take care of her children
When I got through
Wash, iron, and scrub,
Walk the dog around—
It was too much,
Nearly broke me down.
I said, Madam,
Can it be
You trying to make a
Pack-horse out of me?
She opened her mouth.
She cried, Oh, no!
You know, Alberta,
I love you so!
I said, Madam,
That may be true—
But I’ll be dogged
If I love you!
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Madam and her Madam – Langston Hughes
The Facets Model
Creator:
•Langston Hughes
What does it
1902-1967
sound like?
•Simple, dialect/slang,
rhyming phrase endings
Structure/Form:
•Simple 4-line stanzas
When/Where:
•1924/Harlem
Madam
& her
Madam
Techniques Used:
•Rhyming phrase endings,
irony, dialect/slang,
many responsibilities;
5 stanzas of
fatigue/1 stanza
portraying love
from the employer
Why/For Whom:
•A political act to call
attention to injustice/
The American public
*Subject:
•Hardworking, African
Am. Woman
What’s Being
Expressed:
•Fatigue, misery,
constraint
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Barrett, McCoy & Veblen 1987
A few notes about Langston Hughes
Unlike other poets of his day,
Hughes was determined to address
the common experience of black
America and present the information in
venues suitable for young children.
1902-1967
Hughes told stories of African American people
in ways that truly reflected the culture. His work
tells about the suffering as well as the love of
music, laughter, and art of language seen
throughout the culture.
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Women Workers
by Jacob Lawrence
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Women Workers – by Jacob Lawrence
The Facets Model
*Creator:
What does it
•Jacob Lawrence
look like?
1917-2000
•Mostly dark, with areas
of bright colors, depicts
sadness and fatigue
When/Where:
•1924/Harlem
Structure/Form:
Why/For Whom:
•Simple colors, unmixed
colors, simple shapes;
2/3 of painting represent
work completed, 1/3
shows a huge load
of compacted work undone
Women
Workers
•A political act to call
attention to injustice/
The American public
Subject:
•Hardworking, African
Am. Woman
Techniques Used:
•Dark colors, simple
shapes-squares/rectangles,
color contrast, straight lines,
simple coloring – no
color mixing, irony
What’s Being
Expressed:
•Fatigue, misery,
constraint
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
(Barrett, McCoy & Veblen 1997)
A few notes about Jacob Lawrence
1917-2000
“Women Workers” is part of a collection titled “Migration
Series,” one of Lawrence’s collections that employs visual
narrative—a way of telling stories of his life through his
painting, by using alternating rhythms of hardboard panels.
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Compare &
Contrast
Creator
Music
Poetry
Art
Bessie Smith
Langston Hughes
Jacob Lawrence
When/Where
1924 – New York
Early-Mid 1920’s
New York
1940-41- New York
Why/For Whom
•A political act to call
attention to injustice
•The American public
• A political act to call
attention to injustice
•The American public
•A political act to call
attention to injustice
•The American public
Subject
Hard-working woman
One hard-working woman
One hard-working
woman
What’s being
expressed
Fatigue, misery constraint
Fatigue, misery, constraint,
depression, trapped
Fatigue, misery,
constraint, depression
Techniques
used
High pitched instrument, slow
swinging rhythm, lyrics, slang
dialect, saxophone in a call &
response conversation
commiserates, piano
sympathizing, irony
Rhyming phrase endings,
irony
Dark colors,
quadrilaterals, color
contrast, straight line,
irony – perfectly straight,
white dress
Structure/
Form
AAB, simple
Simple four-line stanzas
Simple unmixed colors,
simple shapes
What does it
sound/look like?
Slow, minor,
Simple, dialect/slang, sad,
tired, resentful
Mostly dark, with areas
of bright colors
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist
A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Now, take a look a few other
triptychs…
(a set of 3 artistic works
intended to be appreciated together)
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Cotton Tail
by Duke Ellington
What does it sound like?
What is the form?
What techniques are used?
What is being expressed?
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
Nightlife
by Archibald Motley
Negro Dancers
by Langston Hughes
"Me an' ma baby's
Got two mo' ways,
Two mo' ways to do de Charleston!"
Da, da,
Da, da, da!
Two mo' ways to do de Charleston!"
Soft light on the tables,
Music gay,
Brown-skin steppers
In a cabaret.
White folks, laugh!
White folks, pray!
"Me an' ma baby's
Got two mo' ways,
Two mo' ways to do de
Charleston!"
Forward Together
by Jacob Lawrence
Great Migration Series #1
by Jacob Lawrence
"Freedom Train"
by Langston Hughes
I read in the papers about the Freedom Train
I heard on the radio about the Freedom Train
I seen folks talking about the Freedom Train
Lord, I've been a-waitin for the Freedom Train!
Washington, Richmond, Durham, Chattanooga,
Atlanta
Way cross Georgia.
Lord, Lord, Lord
way down in Dixie the only trains I see's
Got a Jim-Crow coaches set aside for me.
I hope their ain't no Jim Crow on the Freedom
Train,
No back door entrance to the Freedom Train,
No sign FOR COLORED on the Freedom Train,
No WHITE FOLKS ONLY on the Freedom Train.
I'm gonna check up.
I'm gonna to check up on this
Freedom Train.
Who is the engineer on the Freedom Train?
Can a coal-black man drive the Freedom Train?
Or am I still a porter on the Freedom Train?
Is there ballot boxes on the Freedom Train?
Do colored folks vote on the Freedom Train?
When it stops in Mississippi, will it be made plain
Everybody's got a right to board the Freedom
Train?
I'm gonna check up.
I'm gonna to check up on this
Freedom Train.
The Birmingham station's marked COLORED
and WHITE.
The white folks go left
The colored go right.
They even got a segregated lane.
Is that the way to get aboard the Freedom Train?
I'm gonna check up.
I'm gonna to check up on this
Freedom Train.
This Train is Bound for Glory
This train is bound for glory
This train is bound for glory
This train is bound for glory
Children get on board
No more weeping and a wailing
No more weeping and a wailing
No more weeping and a wailing
Children get on board
Get On Board
The Gospel train’s a’comin’
I hear it just at hand
I hear the car wheel rumblin’
And rollin’ thro’ the land
Chorus:
Get on board little children
Get on board little children
Get on board little children
There's room for many more
I hear the train a’comin‘
She's comin' round the curve
She's loosened all her steam and brakes
And strainin' ev'ry nerve
Chorus
The fare is cheap and all can go
The rich and poor are there
No second class aboard this train
No difference in the fare
Showtime
by Romare Bearden
A Tisket A Tasket
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005
I hope you gained some new
information about the Harlem
Renaissance and I thank you for
your time.
J. N. Jenkins, PhD. Music Education Specialist A Kaleidoscopic View of the Harlem Renaissance, 2005