For many years authors tried to successfully express their views on historical tribulations through their literature. These authors attempted time and time again to communicate their opinions to the reading audience in hopes of changing the onlookers' point of views and broadening the readers' outlooks on the authors' mentioned topics. One of the most influential subject matters in American literature was the racism toward African Americans in society. Literature lucratively blossomed and helped mold peoples' attitudes toward racism during the Harlem Renaissance. Three authors, in particular, were feasible precursors for the increase of intelligence concerning discrimination and the awakening of its brutal truth. W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes are true models of this abolitionist literature revolution. Some believe the Harlem Renaissance was just as much a construction of the white imagination as it was the site of black cultural expression or freedom (Balshaw 309). While some African Americans chose things such as paintings, sculptures, and photographs during this artistic outpouring, others expressed their thoughts through their writings (Wright 253). DuBois, Hurston, and Hughes left little to the imagination and wrote pieces that showed the factual side of racism. They used their writings to educate people on different aspects of racial discrimination. Their works promoted the awareness of the intolerance and assisted in the decrease of prejudice that is still seen today.
In order to appreciate these authors, one must realize what they, as African Americans had to overcome. For centuries people lived their lives oblivious to what was happening in the world around them, and often tried to convince themselves that racism was not a problem in society. Others may have realized the predicament but failed to see that they themselves could possibly be adding to the problem by discriminating against another person.
