At the beginning of February, the Main Library set up an exhibit showcasing works from the Harlem Renaissance, led by Library Specialist for Collections, Events and Outreach Karen Huck. 

The Harlem Renaissance was a period when arts, literature, music and cinema flourished in the Black community of Harlem, New York. In the early to mid-1900s, Black culture and pride blossomed within the thriving creative movement.

The exhibit features primary sources and material from the University libraries, including works of art, books, music, newspapers and photographs. 

According to Huck, the inspiration for the exhibit came from the library’s 100th anniversary celebration, which highlighted the 1920s. While exploring written material from the Harlem Renaissance for the event, Huck found enough source material to create a display regarding the movement. 

One of the exhibit’s main focuses details the work of Black scholars such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen and W.E.B. Du Bois.

“African American intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance took public roles to champion black culture, combat racial injustice and influence literary history,” an exhibit prompt said. 

Du Bois’s “Crisis” was the first official publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The publication, which detailed social injustice and race relations, was one of many primary sources found throughout the exhibit. 

“A lot of what the Harlem Renaissance really was was redefining what it meant to be Black and laying new foundations for future authors and artists to really experiment based on their own interests,” Huck said.

Head of Music and Performing Arts Library and Associate Professor Kirstin Johnson emphasized that, along with literature, music was a key part of the display. This included works such as printed scores and sheet music from the period’s pivotal figures.

“I imagine that when people often think about Black history in America, they think about the Civil Rights movement, they think about exclusion, they think about systemic racism,” Johnson said. “They don’t realize that the arts have always been used to counter that and that there is a lot of protest and a lot of identity in music.”

Johnson displayed both classical music pieces and jazz and soul pieces, incorporating work derived from what people consider “Western” genres and Black musical traditions.

“One of the important ideas of the Harlem Renaissance is that you could have the original genres, you could use those Western genres but show that other people could do that too and that it could be of value,” Johnson said. 

The exhibit displays “Shuffle Along,” composed by Eubie Blake and considered one of the first stage works from the Harlem Renaissance. Florence Price’s “Four Songs from the Weary Blues” and William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony” are also featured.

While the exhibit emphasizes the importance of the Harlem Renaissance, it also underscores student resources at the Main Library.

According to Johnson and Huck, the University’s libraries have the tools and materials necessary to understand and preserve history across many periods and genres.

“We’re trying to highlight the fact that the library has a lot of undiscovered items that people have access to and can look at,” Huck said. “The hope is that people walking through the library will stop and look and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know we had this stuff.’”

While the Harlem Renaissance was a redefining time for Black Americans, it was about more than just music or literature. It was a time of empowerment, where people shared their hopes, struggles and experiences through the arts.

“Art isn’t neutral,” Johnson said. “It’s not meant to be neutral. It’s meant to speak to things and us as human beings.” 

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