Harlem Renaissance Timeline
Timeline Description: The Harlem Renaissance took place during the roaring 1920's and into the 30's. It was a time when the African American community rose up and showed off their writing talents, creativity, and usefulness to the world. This timeline shows the order of events.

Date Event
1870 Freed slaves move past slavery (1870's)

Starting in the 1870's, many former slaves began migrating out of the intolerant south and into the more prosperous north.
1900 Harlem becomes a final destination

Harlem, in New York, had been established by wealthy white citizens. As former slaves and other immigrants moved north, they settled into this well-to-do neighborhood.
1910 The NAACP is founded

NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
1916 Madame Walker moves to Harlem

Madame Walker moved to Harlem in 1916. She was an affluent black woman who had made millions of dollars after she created a hair product for black women.
1917 Protests and Riots for equal rights

A silent protest was organized in New York after riots in St. Louis killed hundreds of blacks. During this time, many blacks got together and fought for their rights.
1918 Marcus Garvey begins publishing

Marcus Garvey had the goal of uniting Negros around the world. He began publishing The Negro World.
1919 The American Negro

A writer named Benjamin Brawley wrote and published a work called The Negro in Art and Literature in the United States.
1924 Civic Club Dinner launches the New Negro

This was an organized dinner where black writers were brought together with white publishers.
1925 The New Negro movement

Alain Locke edited and put out Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro. This helped continue the new Negro movement that started with the Civic Dinner the year before.
1927 An African American wins the Pulitzer Prize

Paul Green wrote a work called In Abraham's Bosom. It won a Pulitzer Prize.
1927 Louis Armstrong plays jazz

Louis Armstrong began his jazz career.
1927 Harlem Globetrotters

The Harem Globetrotters was established. It is still widely known today.
1929 A successful Broadway play by a black artist

Harlem, written by Wallace Thurman, opened on Broadway. It became the most successful play by a black author of its time.
1929 The Great Depression hits

In 1929 the stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression.
1934 The fight against segregation

Members of the NAACP and the American Fund for Public Service met to discuss ways to end segregation, or the separation of blacks and whites.
1937 The last novel of the Harlem Renaissance

African American author Zora Hurston published the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. It was considered the last novel of the Harlem Renaissance.