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Difficulty: EasyThe Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement

Read the following excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston's 1928 essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me":

> "I am colored but I offer nothing in the way of extenuating images. I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature has somehow given them a dirty deal."

Based on the excerpt, which of the following core tenets of the New Negro Movement is best reflected in Hurston's perspective?

  1. A rejection of tragedy and victimhood in favor of cultural pride and individual self-determinationAnswer
  2. B
    An endorsement of the belief that Black Americans must emigrate to Africa to build a separate populist nation
  3. C
    An alignment with the view that Black advancement should prioritize vocational education and acceptance of social segregation
  4. D
    The assertion that demographic shifts during the Great Migration were driven solely by Southern agricultural crop failures

Answer

A rejection of tragedy and victimhood in favor of cultural pride and individual self-determination
In the excerpt, Zora Neale Hurston explicitly rejects the notion of being 'tragically colored' or viewing Black identity through a lens of victimhood. This perspective directly aligns with the New Negro Movement's emphasis on self-definition, individual agency, and cultural pride.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston to identify her attitude toward racial identity.
Hurston rejects being 'tragically colored' or belonging to the 'sobbing school' of thought, showing a refusal to define her identity by suffering or victimhood.
Understanding the author's tone and message is essential for identifying the underlying ideological framework.
2
Connect Hurston's perspective to the central themes of the Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement.
The New Negro Movement emphasized self-definition, agency, and celebration of Black culture and individuality rather than passive victimhood.
This links the specific primary source to the broader historical and cultural context of the era.
3
Evaluate the options to determine which one accurately represents this connection while identifying the errors in the distractors.
The option advocating cultural pride and individual self-determination is correct, whereas the others describe unrelated concepts like Garveyism, Booker T. Washington's vocational model, or misattributed migration factors.
This confirms the correct option and ensures distractors are ruled out based on historical accuracy.

Key Concept

The Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement's emphasis on self-definition, agency, and cultural pride.
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Topics

The Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement

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