<P> The first major public recognition of African - American culture occurred during the Harlem Renaissance pioneered by Alain Locke . In the 1920s and 1930s , African - American music , literature , and art gained wide notice . Authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen and poets such as Langston Hughes , Claude McKay , and Countee Cullen wrote works describing the African - American experience . Jazz , swing , blues and other musical forms entered American popular music . African - American artists such as William H. Johnson and Palmer Hayden created unique works of art featuring African Americans . </P>
what was the term given to the period when african american culture became popular
Harlem Renaissance