African American Women

in

Jazz & Blues

In the Pictures:

Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Black Musicians Union

Credits: http://neartamerica.com/featured/billie-holiday-american-school.html , http:// www.citelighter.com/music/artists/knowledgecards/louis-armstrong, https:// www.boundless.com/u-s-history/from-the-new-era-to-the-great-depression-1920-1933/theculture-of-change/the-jazz-age/

! In the 1920s, African Americans as a whole group were making many cultural and artistic advances and achievements (this is also referred to as the Harlem Renaissance). In places like New York and Chicago, African Americans with creative ambitions or just potential ideas met and exchanged thoughts. The well-known poetry writer Langston Hughes is one example of someone who made many accomplishments during the 1920s. Others are W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, and Wallace Thurman. Aside from advances in literature, poetry, and dance, music was a prominent form of creative expression for African Americans, especially women. Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Florence Mills, and the mother of blues Ma Rainey are all wonderful examples of women artists who were active in the music industry during the 1920s. African American women would perform in African American clubs such as The Apollo Theater and Cotton Club of New York. The Charleston Dance became very popular in the 1920s and this is usually how people danced to Jazz.
Credit: (slideshare, http://www.slideshare.net/jfuertsch/cultural-achievements-and-africanamerican-achievements-in-the-1920s-2010)