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Difficulty: HardThe Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement

Read the following excerpt from Claude McKay's poem "White Houses" (1922):

> Your door is shut against my tightened face,
> And I am sharp as steel with discontent;
> But I possess the courage and the grace
> To bear my anger proudly and unbent.
> The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet,
> A chafing savage, down the decent street;

McKay’s portrayal of emotional fortitude and defiance in the face of systemic exclusion best reflects which characteristic of the New Negro Movement?

  1. A
    The call for a mass political withdrawal from the United States through immediate repatriation to West Africa.
  2. B
    The strategy of prioritizing economic cooperation with white elites through agricultural training.
  3. The development of a self-assertive psychological identity that rejected accommodationism and submissiveness.Answer
  4. D
    The belief that racial discrimination was a southern legal reality that did not exist in northern cities.

Answer

The development of a self-assertive psychological identity that rejected accommodationism and submissiveness.
The correct option, which emphasizes the development of a self-assertive psychological identity, is correct because Claude McKay's poem 'White Houses' captures the defiant spirit of the New Negro. By describing himself as bearing his anger 'proudly and unbent' in the face of a shut door, the speaker represents the psychological liberation and refusal to submit to racial exclusion that defined the New Negro Movement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the tone and content of the poem excerpt.
The excerpt shows a speaker who is met with a shut door (exclusion) but responds with defiance, anger borne proudly, and refusal to bend to this treatment.
Understanding the speaker's posture helps identify the core attitude being expressed.
2
Relate the speaker's attitude to the historical context of the New Negro Movement.
The attitude of pride, defiance, and self-possession in the face of exclusion directly maps to Alain Locke's definition of the 'New Negro'—a psychological shift from accommodationist submissiveness to self-respect and assertiveness.
This links the primary source text to the target historical concept.
3
Evaluate the distractors against the core tenets of the Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement.
The emigrationist option refers to Marcus Garvey's separate movement; the industrial education option refers to Booker T. Washington's earlier accommodationist platform; and the southern-only option is historically inaccurate regarding de facto segregation in northern cities.
Eliminating options based on historical errors confirms the correct choice.

Key Concept

The Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement
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The Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement

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