According to Encarta.MSN.com, a Black-American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance sprang up during the 1920s and '30s. Although it influenced primarily Black American literature, its impact was seen in all the arts and in society as a whole.
The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time in American history that the white mainstream took notice of the literature of Black America.
Writers like Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright, whose works were published in the '30s and '40s, were emboldened to become writers because of the Harlem Renaissance, according to Spiritus-Temporis.com.
The Harlem Renaissance forever changed American cultural dynamics, according to Encarta.MSN.com. The America public in general became more accepting of the Black voice in literature, music, art and society.
According to Spiritus-Temporis.com, the impact of this cultural movement was not limited to the United States. Many artists traveled to Europe, bringing the influence of the Harlem Renaissance with them. Their fame abroad surpassed their popularity at home. Black writers and other fine artists worldwide, including Peter Abrahams of South Africa, attributed much of their success to the roads paved for them by the Harlem Renaissance.