Harlem renaissance

 Pick a current event/issue that interests you; one that you could draw links of similarity or difference to one (or several) of the Harlem Renaissance poems. Remember, the goal here is to compare/contrast how the black identity and experience are defined in the poems vs. how the black identity and experience are defined in the current “Obama era.” Do you want to emphasize how progress has been made? Or do you want to emphasize the lack of progress made? Or do you want to offer a qualified point about how progress has been made? (this last option is the preferred option) Try to limit the discussion to a particular contemporary figure (R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, Kanye West, Rachel Dolezal, etc.) or event/trend (the Ferguson riots, the Charleston shooting, the dialogue about diversity at the Oscars, the press’s treatment of President Obama vs. Trump, the protesting for/against the Charlottesville Confederate statues, etc.) instead of trying to address a more general (and therefore thinner) focus. Decide on what aspects of a given poem you’d like to explore and what poetry tips you’d like to use to explore those aspects. How is the poem relevant to the contemporary figure/event being examined? You will use the poems to develop your point about the past while using the contemporary sources to develop your point about the present.