If Beale Street Could Talk

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider what you know about the Harlem Renaissance. In what city did this movement take place? Who were some of the influential figures involved in the Harlem Renaissance? What were the causes and some of the effects of this movement?

Teaching Suggestion: Named for the Harlem area of Manhattan where there was an existing community of African Americans, the Harlem Renaissance was an important foundation for African American artistic, cultural, and philosophical expression that would ultimately shape future African American social movements, including the civil rights movement (please see Question 2 below). The Great Migration of African Americans from the southern to northern US states during the 1910s was an important catalyst to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. Notable artists from the Harlem Renaissance include Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James VanDerZee, Dorothy West, and Aaron Douglas. This question connects with the themes of African American Music as a Representation of African American Culture and Identity and The Black Arts Movement.

• This article provides a general overview of the Harlem Renaissance.