Following the end of the Reconstruction era, the shift from working the fields in the South to industries in the North led many young people to Northern cities for better economic opportunities. The city’s African American population swelled as more flocked to Harlem as the real estate boom declined rapidly and families began to sell their properties cheaply. The streets of Harlem were lined with African American-owned publishing houses, newspaper companies, jazz joints, record companies, nightclubs, restaurants, and cabarets. Organizations like A. Philip Randolph’s Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, NAACP, National Urban League, and Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association housed their headquarters in the city.

The Harlem Renaissance is a movement from the 1920s to 1930s that encapsulated the culture and intellectuality of African Americans through their voices, art, and enterprises. The manifestation of Black culture through art, literature, and music granted a canvas for intellectual contributors to create a realistic presentation of the African American identity. The movement inspired and influenced future generations of African American artists and intellectuals. The Harlem Renaissance instilled in African Americans across the country a new social consciousness for self-determination and pride. The art depicted African American life, identity, and culture that emerged from Harlem challenged the racist stereotypes of the Jim Crow South. This movement radically redefined how people of other races viewed and understood African Americans and their experiences.