Harlem Renaissance Blogpost

The Harlem Renaissance Icon that spoke out to me the most was France's person, Piri Thomas. Piri's entire life is something that amazes me because it's like no other. He was taken by gang violence and drugs at the early part of his life. Crime on the streets absorbed Piri and he was eventually arrested. During his seven years in jail, he wrote about his experiences before being caught. Prison made a new man out of Piri. After his life on the streets, Piri traveled to many different universities and colleges to tell his story in order to keep more people out of crime and drugs and gangs. This amazed me because people barely see or even hear of people who try to reach out to others to prevent them from something. For me it's extraordinary to see someone try to stop others from potentially doing what he did in the past.

Piri Thomas' role in the Harlem Renaissance was to prevent more gang members and drug addicts. The lectures that Piri has given may have actually made a significant progress. Society was impacted because more and more young men and women were aware of the risks of drugs and gang violence. There's more people in the world that are against crime on the streets. That was Piri's role and impact on the Harlem Renaissance and society.

Another icon of the Harlem Renaissance that stood out to me was Charlie Parker. He mainly stands out because he helped invent bebop, a whole new type of jazz in the 1940's. Inventing a new type of music sounds challenging, so that's what makes Charlie a distinctive icon. Around the time he helped make bebop, he was undergoing a serious heroin and alcohol addiction. This lost him his ability to play his music publicly. Charlie's talent in playing saxophone and inventing bebop was his positive impact on music and society. His impact and his accomplishments are why Charlie Parker stands out to me.

Piri Thomas