The Times...They Are A'Changing
An Internet Hotlist on Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni

created by Mrs. Cinco in partnership with Mrs. Bachy
Sagamore Middle School

Introduction | Harlem Renaissance 1920's | Black Power 1960's | Pictures | Poems


Introduction
 Langston Hughes was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, the period during the 1920's. In his poetry Hughes celebrated the real life of black Americans. He wrote about ordinary people and their struggles.

Nikki Giovanni began writing in the 1960's, a time of great upheaval. Giovanni's bitter, sometimes violent, poems attracted wide audiences. In later years her poetry became more gentle. 'The World Is Not a Pleasant Place To Be' comes from a book of poems called MY HOUSE. Many of Giovanni's poems reflect her childhood and her experience as an African-American woman.

Both Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni wrote during times of change for African Americans.

Let's find out more about the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's and the Black Power movement of the 1960's.

Reflecting on both poets and their poetry, you will create a collage. Your collage will include the following:

-One picture demonstrating the people from one of these time periods. What was life like in the early 1900's in Harlem (New York)? OR, what was life like in the early 1960's in the United States?


-One picture relating to the speaker in either of the two poems by Giovanni or Hughes.

As you create your collage, keep these quotes in mind, 'the world is not a pleasant place to be,'AND 'Help me to make a world anew...I reach out my dreams to you.'

-Include a paragraph(s)with specific details for each picture.

Future Discussion Points:

In what way did life change for Black Americans from the early 1900's to the 1960's? In what way did life stay the same for Black Americans from the early 1900's to the 1960's?

Did Langston Hughes's poetry and the Nikki Giovanni's writings influence the people of the times?

Ulitmately, do the times make the man, or does man make the times?' What do you think?


The Internet Resources

Harlem Renaissance 1920's

Black Power 1960's

Pictures

Poems
created by Filamentality Content by Mrs. Cinco in partnership with Mrs. Bachy, dcinco@sachem.edu
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listlangstonci.html
Last revised Mon Mar 5 14:24:09 US/Pacific 2012