Final answer:
The Harlem Renaissance focused on instilling pride, self-determination, and political activism in African Americans through the arts, influencing the Civil Rights Movement and incorporating Black culture into the broader American cultural landscape.
Step-by-step explanation:
Primary Focus of the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was fundamentally about instilling self-determination, pride, and political activism among African Americans. Leaders and participants of this cultural movement aimed to use art as a vehicle for social and political improvement. Notable figures like Alain Locke and Langston Hughes influenced this renaissance, inspiring racial pride through literature, music, and art, thereby laying the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement. The Harlem Renaissance transcended cultural and intellectual boundaries, challenging stereotypes and fostering a newly carved identity for African Americans, with art that became integrated into the fabric of American culture.
Centered in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, this movement flourished in the 1920s and 1930s due to the Great Migration, as African Americans moved from the South to Northern cities. This influx led to a synergy in Harlem where artistically gifted individuals like Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, and Zora Neale Hurston came together to express their experiences and heritage through various forms of art, creating a powerful articulation of Black existence and creativity.