Four Publications of the Harlem Renaissance Pt. 1

For twenty years, Harlem Renaissance writers and artists explored themes such as assimilation, alienation, racism, and pride through the creation of novels, essays, plays, poetry, sculpture, paintings, and photography.

These writers and artists would not have been able to launch their careers without having their work seen by the masses. Four notable publications—The Messenger (A. Philip Randolph & Chandler Owen), The Crisis (NAACP), Opportunity (Urban League), and Marcus Garvey’s Negro World printed the work of many African-American artists and writers-helping the Harlem Renaissance become the artistic movement that made it possible for African-Americans to develop an authentic voice in American society.

The Messenger Magazine

The Messenger was a politically radical publication was established by A. Philip Randolph (founding President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Union) and Chandler Owen (Writer, Editor, Activist) in 1917. Originally, Owen and Randolph were hired to edit a publication entitled Hotel Messenger by African-American hotel workers. However, when the two editors wrote a blaring article that exposed union officials of corruption, the paper ceased printing. Owen and Randolph quickly rebounded and established the journal The Messenger. 

Its pages included a combination of news events, political commentary, book reviews, profiles of important figures and other items of interest. In response to the Red Summer of 1919, Owen and Randolph reprinted the poem "If We Must Die" written by Claude McKay. Other writers such as Roy Wilkins, E. Franklin Frazier, and George Schuyler also published work in this publication. The monthly publication stopped printing in 1928. 

Crisis Magazine - NAACP | W.E.B. Dubois - Editor

Established in 1910 as the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The Crisis was the preeminent social and political magazine for African-Americans. With W.E.B. DuBois as its editor, the publication stuck by its subtitle: "A Record of the Darker Races" by devoting its pages to events such as the Great Migration. By 1919, the magazine had an estimated monthly circulation of 100,000.

Part II coming next month!

Sources:

https://www.thoughtco.com/four-publications-of-the-harlem-renaissance-45158

sw