Harlem Renaissance Biographical Dictionary

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Harlem Renaissance Biographical Dictionary

• By
• Trinity Episcopal School
• Third Grade

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Harlem Renaissance Biographical Dictionary

• The Harlem Renaissance was from 1919 to the mid
  1930s in America.
• Many forces contributed to this period of time,
  but a few of the crucial ones were the Great
  Migration after the Civil War, World War I, and
  immigration reform.
• African Americans joined together to create an
  era of music, dance, literature, and athletics
  that are still a major influence to the culture
  of the United States in the Twenty-First Century.
• The Harlem Renaissance ended mainly because of
  the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• Listed are several artists, musicians, athletes,
  poets, and writers that were influential to this
  period.
• Trinity Third Graders hope to add to this list as
  this topic is studied in years to come.

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Marian Anderson

• Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Feb.27th 1897
• Died April 8, 1993
• A Great Opera Singer
• Hello my name is Emily and this is Anna Riley and
  we are here to tell you about Marian Anderson.
• Marian Anderson was born in Pennsylvania. She
  loved to sing a lot just like her entire family
  did. Everyone liked it when she sang. When she
  was six years old she joined a junior church
  choir. Then she applied to an all white music
  school after her graduation from high school in
  1921, but she was turned away because she was
  black. Race discrimination was a struggle for
  Marian. Still, she became one of the best opera
  singers in the whole world. She sang at the White
  House when she was older for Franklin D.
  Roosevelt and the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
  In 1972 she was awarded the U.N Peace Prize. She
  died of heart failure in 1993 in Portland,
  Oregon. She was a very important singer.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/ande-mar.htm
• By Emily and Anna Riley

4
Louis Armstrong

• Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans 1900
• Died in-1971
• Musician
• Some people consider him to be the greatest
  trumpet player in the world. His nickname is
  Satchel mouth because he had such huge white
  teeth like paper in a satchel. He went to a
  school for delinquent boys, but he learned music
  there and became leader of the band.
• After starting a band he then composed many
  songs. He also learned how to play many different
  instruments.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.factmonster.com/biography/var/louisarms
  trong.html
• By Sara and Tommy

5
Aaron Douglas

• Born in Kansas
• 1898-1979
• Painter
• In 1934 Aaron Douglas was commissioned to paint a
  series of murals for the 135th Street branch of
  the New York Public Library.
• One struggle was that Douglas was black and even
  though the Union had won the Civil War there was
  still colorization and he didnt get the best
  paints or easels.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.hometoharlem/hthcult.nsf/noteables/aaro
  ndouglas
• By Joey and Jonathan

6
Duke Ellington

• Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington
• Duke Ellington was born in Washington DC on April
  29th 1899 .He died on May 24th 1974, in New York
  .He composed and played swing music one of the
  most loved forms of Jazz. He also played in an
  Orchestra. Ellingtons mother was very religious.
  Ellington had a younger sister. Ellingtons wife
  Edna Thompson played the piano in DC!! Duke
  Ellington was also an Athlete!! His real name is
  Edward Kennedy Ellington American pianist who was
  the greatest jazz composer and bandleader.
• To find more information follow this link.
• http//www.google.com/search?hlenqdukeellingto
  nbtnGGoogleSearch
• By Briley and Cecilia

7
Jesse Redmon Fauset

• Birthplace - unknown
• April 27, 1882-April 30, 1961
• Poet
• Jesse Redmon Fauset lived in New York during the
  Harlem Renaissance. She wrote twenty novels. Her
  first novel was There Is Confusion (1924). She
  could not get it published because it did not
  contain stereotypical character or plots.
• To learn more follow this link.
• www.dcilibrary.org/blken/bios/fauset.html
• By Amanda and Garrett

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Josh Gibson

• Born December 21, 1911 in Buena Vista, Georgia
• Died January 20, 1947 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Athlete
• Josh Gibson lived in Georgia during the Harlem
  Renaissance. He played baseball. Josh Gibson got
  his start with Homestead of the Negro National
  League in July, 1930 when he came out of the
  stands to replace the Grays injured Catcher. His
  struggles were he died three months before the
  integration in the Major leagues. The website we
  used was Josh Gibson National Baseball Hall of
  Fame. The book we used was Baseball Encyclopedia.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honor
  ees/hofer_bios/gibson_josh.htm
• By Dimitri and Grayson

9
Charles Gilpin

• Born in Richmond, Virginia
• 1878-1930 (died at age 51)
• Actor
• Charles Gilpin lived in Richmond, Virginia during
  part of the Harlem Renaissance. He joined the
  nations first legitimate black theater company.
  He performed as the Emperor Jones. In 1914 he
  appeared in the leading role in the Girl at the
  Fort. The company was sold, but Charles Gilpin
  stayed with the company and helped the Lafayette
  players at the First Stock Co. in Harlem. He quit
  school when he was 12 years old.
• To learn more follow this link.
• www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/harlem/text/gilpin.hmp
• By Claudia and Georgia

10
Langston Hughes

• Born 1902 Died 1967
• Poet
• Langston Hughes was a poet in the Renaissance
  time. He was born in Joplin, Missouri Feb.1,
  1902. His parents divorced when he was a small
  child. He wrote many books, poems, and plays
• The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
• Five Plays
• The Panther the Lash
• Good Morning Revolution
• The Weary Blues
• Not Without Laughter
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.redhotjazz.com/hughes.html
• By Coco and David

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Zora Neale Hurston

• Born in Notaslga , Alabama January 7, 1891 died
  on January 28, 1960 in Fort Pierce, Florida.
• Writer
• Zora Neale Hurston was a writer and she lived in
  Harlem.
• She wrote lots of books like Their Eyes Where
  Watching God, Dust Track On the Road and Tell My
  Horse.
• Zoras struggles where that her mother died in
  1904. Zora didnt really take much to her new
  stepmother. They where trying to create a
  African- American community. Sadly the authors
  had a misunderstanding.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/hurs-zor.htm
• By Andrew and Sophia

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Jacob Lawrence

• Born September 7, 1917
• Birthplace Atlantic City, New Jersey
• Died June 9, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois
• Painter
• Some of his major works and accomplishments were
  Migration of the Negro, The Life of Frederick
  Douglas, and The Life of Harriet Tubman.
• Some of his struggles happened when he was young.
  He had to go to live with a foster family while
  his mother earned money to try and support them
  later. He was also part of the Great Migration.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?herojacob_l
  awrence
• By Caroline and Alexander

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Florence Mills

• Born in Washington D.C.
• January 25, 1895-November 1, 1927
• Singer /Dancer
• Florence Mills was one of the best singers in the
  world.
• She was one of the all time greatest stars of the
  Black Theater.
• She lived with her two sisters and parents.
• Her sisters and her would dance and sing
  together.
• And, did you know she was known as the Queen of
  Happiness?
• Her parents were born into slavery and her
  parents were illiterate so it was hard for her to
  learn.
• To learn more follow this link.
• http//www.florencemills.com
• By Madalena and Alex

14
Jesse Owens

• Born in a small town in Alabama
• 1913-1980
• Athlete
• Jesse Owens was a famous track runner. He was
  born in a small town in Alabama during the Harlem
  Renaissance. One of his accomplishments was
  during 1976 when he was awarded the highest honor
  that a civilian of the United States can receive.
  He won many awards and races.
• GO!! Jesse Owens and his fellow students were
  timed in a 60-yard dash. After Jesse finished,
  Coach Charley Riley immediately asked natural
  runner Jesse Owens to join the track team. It
  was now a bright new beginning. Jesse continued
  to be successful. Owens wiped out 3 world
  records and tied a 4th in a record time 45 to70
  minutes at The Big Ten Conferences. Even with
  all of Jesses accomplishments, he had financial
  struggles. Jesses family was poor, but Jesse
  lived his dream being a track runner.
• He married Ruth Solomon, had 3 kids, and took
  part in history. Go Jesse!
• To learn more follow this link.
• www.jesseowens.com
• By Katherine and Lia

15
Satchel Paige

• Born 1906
• Died 1982
• Baseball Player
• Satchel Paige was born in July 7, of 1906 in
  Alabama and died in 1982 on July 8, in Missouri.
  He was a right-handed pitcher in the Negro
  Leagues and Major League Baseball who is
  considered to be among the greatest baseball
  pitchers of all time. He got the name Satchel
  when he seven as he was working on a railroad
  track. Someone said he looked like a Satchel tree
  and thats how he got the name Satchel. He was
  arrested in 1918 because of stealing. He was
  released in 1923. Some of his great
  accomplishments are he was the highest paid
  player in the Negro League.
• To learn more follow this link
• http//www.satchelpaige.com/
• By Annalise and Chase

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Paul Robeson

• Born in Princeton, New Jersey
• 1898-1976
• Singer, actor, and an athlete
• Paul Robeson got in the College Football Hall of
  Fame 9 years after his death and earned the
  international acclaim for his lead role in
  Othello. He also played in Showboat, Body and
  Soul, Jericho, and Proud Valley and his last
  concert was to New Zealand and Australia. His dad
  was a runaway slave and his mom died of a stove
  fire.
• For more information go to the website below.
• http//www.cpsr.cs.uchicago.edu/robeson/bio.html
• By Stevie and Spencer

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Bill Bojangles Robinson

• Born in Richmond, Virginia
• 1878-1949 Died at age 71
• Tap Dancer
• Bill Robinson was an ordinary kid until he got
  his first nickname Bojangles. He got the
  nickname Bojangles because he was such a great
  entertainer. Bojangles was so great he got to do
  an act in a white mans play. Some of his movies
  didnt really make him a lot of money. He really
  didnt get to learn to read or write. When he was
  a kid he ran away from his grandmother to
  Washington D.C. and would dance for pennies from
  the people on the street.
• To learn more follow this link.
• www.shufsd.org/schools/countrywood/ferrara/bojang_
  peace_valen/mr.bojangles.html
• By Elizabeth and Rory

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Sugar Ray Robinson

• Born 1921
• Died 1989
• Boxer
• Sugar Ray Robinson was born on May 3, 1921 in
  Ailey, Georgia and died on April 12, 1989 in
  Culver City California. Sugar Ray Robinson had 84
  knockouts in his career and 200 fights. Sugar Ray
  Robinson was a five time middle weight champ
  between the years of 1951 and 1960. He turned
  pro in October ,1940 and retired somewhere around
  1984.
• Sugar Ray Robinson had a lot of struggles but one
  was to keep fighting when he got hit. I think he
  was an inspiration to boxers every where.
• To find more information follow this link
• http//www.cmgworldwide.com/sports/robinson/biogra
  phy.html
• By Nick and G

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Augusta Savage

• Born in Florida in 1892, died 1962.
• She was a sculptor
• One of Augusta Savages famous pieces is Lift
  Your Voice and Sing. Augusta made sculptures
  of African American Artists. She loved teaching
  kids art because she knew that children knew art.
  
• Augusta had 14 kids in her family. When she
  arrived in New York City to become a sculptor she
  only had 4. 60.
• To find more information follow this link
• http//northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/art/pages/sava
  ge.htm
• By Nicole and Michael .

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Bessie Smith

• Bessie Smith
• Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
• 1894-1937 (died in Clarksdale, Mississippi)
• Blues Singer
• She was the highest paid black entertainer of her
  day. People called her the queen of blues. Later
  she was called the empress of blues. Her
  struggles were her dad died before she could
  remember him and her mom died when she was nine,
  so her oldest sister had to be in charge of 13
  kids. They had to sing on the street to get money
  for her family. She never went to school to
  learn music. Everything she knew about music she
  learned by watching other people.
• For more information go to the website
• http//www.redhotjazz.com/bessie.html
• by Jordyn and Nesi

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Wallace Thurman

• Born in Salt Lake City, Utah
• 1902-1934(died in New York City)
• Writer
• Wallace Thurman lived in New York City. He was an
  author of several books such as The Blacker the
  Berry, Infants In The Spring, and the Interne.
  He helped start a few magazines and they werent
  successful. He suffered from alcoholism a good
  part of his life.
• To find out more information follow this link
• http//aalbc.com/authors/wallace.htm
• By Trevor and Morgan

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James Van Der Zee

• Born in Massachusetts on June 29, 1886
• Died on May 15, 1983
• Photographer
• James Van Der Zee has 40,000 prints and negatives
  that he created in his lifetime.
• During the Harlem Renaissances his photos were
  not very popular. He had a hard time selling his
  photos during the Great Depression. People say
  that he captured the life and spirit in Harlem
  for 50 years!
• To find more information follow this link
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Van_Der_Zee
• by Allison and Missy