Tai White
Women of the Early Harlem Renaissance are influential figures who broke the barriers society constructed towards being a woman, being black, and being educated. African American women of the Early Harlem Renaissance did not allow for any man or dominant group in power to silence their voices. The writing was these women’s tools to dismantle the injustices that white men built into society. This project was made to make connections between African American literature and digital humanities. Not much attention was given to women writers of the Harlem Renaissance. This project works to rightfully praise these strong women writing and confronting their white counterparts and issues in society. Digital technologies allow people to become aware of who the women writers of the Harlem Renaissance were. When someone thinks of the Harlem Renaissance they think of black men; for example, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and W.E.B Dubois. Through the creation of websites such as this one, other significant people of the Harlem Renaissance who were more at a disadvantage during that time are properly acknowledged as well.
The information is organized on this project by giving some background about African American women who were apart of the Harlem Renaissance. The website also goes into the origins of this project and to show how much more inclusive previous books or websites of the Harlem Renaissance should be. The goal of this project was to make more information about the Harlem Renaissance and the women who took part in this more accessible. I like this project I just wish there was more information behind some of these women’s works.
Epistemology is an important term that can be used when thinking of the women of the Harlem Renaissance. Much of these women’s books, short stories, and poems took knowledge from the dominant culture about black people and women and questioned its validity. Their skin color and gender determined their place in society and paved their life paths. Through their literature, they sought to break away from these stereotypes and show that they are individuals rather than just members of a marginalized group.