Negro Youth Speaks

Alain Locke’s essay, Negro Youth Speaks is very representative of the Harlem Renaissance. It discusses the younger generation who Locke refers to as the “voice of the New Negro” (47). It is through this younger generation that African Americans have broken into true artistic levels, competing with their white counterparts. At this time, art became a very important segment of society for African Americans to showcase their talents and accomplishments. Locke feels that this new generation has “stopped speaking for the Negro” and now “they speak as Negroes” (48). It is this New Negro that has changed society and the way that African American art is evaluated. I liked that Locke pointed out that the African American artists of the Harlem Renaissance had a new way of thinking and a new outlook about their lives. Locke stated that African American artists had a “new aesthetic and a new philosophy” (49). I think that this new attitude gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance and characterized this time period in African American history.

This New Negro no longer has the obligation to represent the race. Instead they are free to express themselves as individuals through their art. There are fewer restrictions on the African American because they are not as held back by the prejudice and oppression of the earlier generations. Locke’s essay has a very positive tone. I think when this essay was published it provided African Americans with hope and motivation to break free from the restrictions of the past and strive to accomplish great things. Locke was sending a message that this new generation is finally going to be able to make the contributions that they have always been capable of doing.