Lesson Plan - Welcome to Harlem!

Listen to a Playlist

A playlist of the songs in the “What’s on the Playlist?” sidebar is available at bit.ly/HarlemPlaylist or at youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwOokLV6Bjx8ktPzZuVhkNFtgoVpDnRfb. You might play it as students read the article or ask them to choose their favorite song.

Build Background Knowledge

Before students watch the video “Art That Changed America: The Harlem Renaissance,” provide these questions: What was the Harlem Renaissance? Who were some of the important people involved? What influence did it have? Have students write or record responses using a platform like Flipgrid. Then discuss as a class.

Preview Vocabulary

Use the online Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms anthropology, folklore, Great Depression, Great Migration, sonnet, and stock market. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to underline, highlight, or jot down the central idea of each section.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• How did Harlem become “the capital of Black America” in the 1920s? (Analyzing Events)
Harlem, a neighborhood in upper Manhattan, had previously been considered the countryside, with its large estates. After immigrants from Europe settled there in the late 1800s, real estate developers built many houses and apartment buildings. Although many developers hoped to attract White middle-class families, Black New Yorkers started moving there to escape discrimination and overcrowding in other parts of the city. Many Black Southerners who fled segregation in the Great Migration also came to Harlem, along with immigrants from Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. By the early 1920s, Harlem had the highest concentration of Black people in the U.S.

• Summarize the section “The Music.” (Summarizing)
Harlem had dozens of theaters, clubs, and dance halls. There, musicians contributed to a new form of music that would come to be called jazz. Important musicians included the pianist James P. Johnson, trumpeter Louis Armstrong, and bandleader Duke Ellington. At places like the Savoy Ballroom, Harlemites created popular dances like the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. Some of the most important recording stars, like the singer Bessie Smith, also lived and worked in Harlem.

• Who was W.E.B. Du Bois? How did he contribute to the Harlem Renaissance? (Key Details)
W.E.B. Du Bois was a scholar, historian, and activist. He wrote The Souls of Black Folk, which examined how Black Americans struggled for equal rights. He also co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and edited its magazine, the Crisis. He contributed to the Harlem Renaissance by shaping a new sense of Black pride.

• What details support the idea that “Black people still lacked fundamental rights as Americans”? (Text Evidence)
Black Americans’ right to vote wasn’t fully protected by law until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They also experienced discrimination in 1920s Harlem. For example, Black people could perform or work at the famous Cotton Club, but they could not enter as customers. The poet Claude McKay described how Black Americans were “fighting back” against a wave of anti-Black violence. The article also states that “the successes of the Harlem Renaissance showed Black Americans what they could achieve.”

• What is Langston Hughes saying in his poem “I, Too”? Why is the last line significant? (Primary Sources)
Hughes is saying that Black people like him are part of America. He describes how they’ve experienced discrimination by being sent to eat in the kitchen so White visitors won’t see them. Hughes, however, looks forward to the day when he’ll be able to “sit at the table.” In the last line, “I, too, am America,” Hughes is saying that he deserves to be treated liked other Americans and have the same rights.

• Why did the Harlem Renaissance end? (Cause and Effect)
In October 1929, the Wall Street stock market crashed, which led to the Great Depression. In the 1930s, many jobs around the world disappeared along with the money that supported publishing, arts, and entertainment in Harlem. The Harlem Renaissance was ending by the mid-1930s, but its legacy still lives on today.

Analyze Photographs

Assign the Skill Builder What Do You See? to have students choose three images from the article to analyze using a chart. You might have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups. You could also have students share their responses by using a jigsaw to create groups of students who chose different images to analyze.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.