Document 3
howard johnson was an african american newspaper editor.
…the time was ripe for a renaissance back then. after the defeat of the kaiser in germany [in
world war i], a spirit of optimism and positive expectation swept across harlem. the allies won
the war for democracy, so now it was time for something to happen in america to change the
system of segregation and lynching that was going on. in europe, the black [african american]
troops were welcomed as liberators; so when they came back to america, they were determined
to create a situation that would approximate the slogans they had been fighting for. they wanted
democracy at home in the united states. and this general idea feed the concept of “the
renaissance.”…
a lot of people wonder how there could be joy and optimism in a community under the
conditions of segregation and discrimination. but the black community had two very important
forces that enabled it to survive and grow. one was the church, where you had the gospel and
the spiritual, which were inspirational in their basic content. and the other was the
entertainment world, where you had the music of the secular side, expressed in jazz.…
source: howard johnson, interviewed in jennings and brewster, the century, doubleday, 1998
according to howard johnson, what was one effect of world war i on the black community?
according to howard johnson, what was one factor that the black community during the 192os?