5. Art as Activism

What was the political legacy of the Harlem Renaissance? In the final episode, we’ll explore the lasting impact of the art and organizing that happened during the 1920s and ’30s and how it paved the way for the civil rights movement. We’ll highlight some key political events of the time and explore the work of artists such as Romare Bearden and Augusta Savage. We’ll also touch upon what it means for The Met to tell this story in 2024, more than fifty years after its controversial exhibition “Harlem on My Mind.”

Learn more about the exhibition at metmuseum.org/HarlemRenaissance

Objects featured in this episode:

Romare Bearden, The Block, 1971

Augusta Savage, Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp), 1939

Guests:

Mary Schmidt Campbell, curator, writer, historian and former president of Spelman college

Jordan Casteel, artist

Denise Murell, curator of the exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism

Bridget R. Cooks, Chancellor’s Fellow and professor of art history and African American studies at the University of California, Irvine

Original poem: Major Jackson’s “The Block (for Romie)”

For a transcript of this episode and more information, visit metmuseum.org/HarlemIsEverywhere

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Harlem Is Everywhere is produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios.

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