Occurring in the 1920s and 1930s, the Harlem Renaissance was an important movement for African Americans across America. This movement allowed black culture to be heard and accepted by white citizens. The movement expressed itself through art, music and literature. These things were also the most famous and memorable things of the Renaissance. This movement also, thanks to very strong, moving and inspiring people, changed the political views of African Americans. Compared to before, the Harlem Renaissance had major effects on America during and after its era. After the Civil War ended, African Americans had more opportunities and freedom since the men were Civil War soldiers. Most African Americans intended to leave the South and settle in the North due to persistent racism in the South, such as in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson. This case involved a light-skinned man sitting in the “white” carriage of a train. Although he was light-skinned, he was still considered black and was arrested for sitting in that section of the train. It was an opportunity to express racial equality, but the end result was devastating. The Supreme Court declared that racial segregation must remain constitutionally acceptable. Additionally, the economic status of the South was declining and there was not as much labor due to the destruction of crops. Before African Americans settled this area, Harlem was “designed specifically for white workers who wanted to commute to the city” (BIO Classroom). Due to the rapid growth in the number of whites settling there and the fact that developers did not have enough transportation to allow these people to move back and forth between downtown to get to at work and at home, most residents have left. The...... middle of paper ......ty who was able to see black culture and all its creativity. Works Cited “BIO Classroom”. ORGANIC. A&E Television Networks, 1996. Web. April 19, 2014. Dickstein, Morris. “Carl Van Vechten and the Harlem Renaissance.” Morris DicksteinRSS. Times Literay Supplement, nd Web. April 20, 2014. “The Harlem Renaissance – Limitless.” » Without limits. Ed. CC-BY-SA 3.0. Np, and Web. April 20, 2014. “Harlem Renaissance.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. April 20, 2014 "The Harlem Renaissance - Open Textbook." Boundless. Np, and Web. April 20, 2014. “Intimate circles | Mason. » Intimate Circles | Mason. Np, and Web. April 20, 2014. “Langston Hughes.” Langston Hughes. Np, and Web. April 20, 2014. “Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). » PBS. PBS and Web. April 19. 2014.