BLACK ART: A JUXTAPOSITION, ANALYSIS, AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE THEMES AND SIMILARITIES OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE AND THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT

Abstract

This thesis explains the strong similarity between the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts movement. It analyzes three artists from each time period and compares the themes in their work to elicit new themes that demonstrate the this strong similarity. The city of Harlem is provided as the background, and the implications of the themes will be discussed in terms of the past and the future of the social movements. This paper will allow for the social movements of the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts movement to be seen in a different light; for although the movements are by no means the same, they are incredibly similar thus revealing new information about the movements, the artists involved in the movements, and United States society, both African-American and American.