Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920's. During the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alian Locke. The Movement also included the new African-American cultural expressions across the urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest United States affected by the Great Migration(African American), of which Harlem was the largest. Though it was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, in addition, many francophone black writers from African and Caribbean colonies who lived in Paris were also influenced by the Harlem Renaissance.
Jazz
A period known as the "Jazz Age" started in the United States in the 1920's. Jazz had become popular music in the country, although older generations considered the music immoral and threatening to old cultural values. Dances such as the Charleston and the Black Bottom were very popular during the period, and jazz bands typically consisted of seven to twelve musicians. Important orchestras in New York were led by Fletcher Henderson, Paul Whiteman and Duke Ellington. Many New Orleans jazzmen had moved to Chicago during the late 1910's in search of employment; among others, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band and Jelly Roll Morton recorded in the city. However, Chicago's importance as a center of jazz music started to diminish toward the end of the 1920s in favor of New York.
Writers
Authors of the period struggled to understand the changes occuring in society. While some writers praised the changes others expressed disappointment in the passing of the old ways.
- Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896–1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works epitomize the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself.
- Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899–1961) was an American author and journalist who strongly influenced 20th-century fiction.