The enlightenment of Afro-American society

Today's African American society's true evaluation depends on the observation of historic background of the African American society's historical background. As history plays a critical role in the true understanding of today's art and literature, a historical and artistic background study is critical for the understanding of the artistic movements and works. This thesis aims chronologically to research the history and art of the African American nation in the framework of their slavery experience. The methodology adopted in the thesis depends on a chronological order, which is expected to contribute to understanding of the events and movements. From the first contact of the slave ship with the white soil to the 'Civil Rights Movement', according to the effects of the figures and events on the consequences, the investigation has objectively presented and analyzed studying on each historical event and figure. After presenting the historical background of the events, the prominent figures, leaders, and minds of the era, I aimed to question and challenge their effects on the African American path of freedom. Majority of the apparently favoring events and figures proved to have disrupted the progress of the race's freedom. Harlem Renaissance, which is the cultural, artistic and to some extent the political revival of the black race, is, dedicated a wide coverage in the thesis. The giants of Harlem are highlighted, their contribution to the Renaissance, and the path they opened for the next generation leaders have accordingly put forth. As the principle of the methodology adopted in the thesis, the Renaissance's benefits, and harms are explored. The fact that movements' intellectuals ignored Jazz as an original product of African American race is challenged.