Sargent Johnson: A Major Force Behind The Harlem Renaissance

Alain Locke said that African artist should reconnect with their roots. Locke’s writings were a major force behind the Harlem Renaissance movement. Sargent Johnson is a reflection of the ancestral arts with works like forever free, that show very pronounced African features on raw wood. Jacob Lawrence studied the ancestral arts of Africa and then produced his own version. He used his new style of African painting to create 41 paintings showing the revolt that led to Haiti’s independence. Archibald Motley went a decidedly different way by painting everyday Negros doing normal everyday activities. He wanted to tell the story of his people and what it meant to be Negro. Langston Hughes felt like Motley in that he wanted to tell the story of the