BLACK PORTRAITS IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE - A PERSPECTIVE FROM 1920-1996, INCLUDING THE MIDWEST

What is the effect of sociocultural conditioning in creating black por traits in African-American literature? As twentieth century cultural a ttitudes change, stereotyped portraits have evolved to more individual ized portraits. The question of how these changes have occurred caused me to research the ''spirit or ethos'' of selected black literature f rom 1920-1996. After screening various works, I selected authors repre senting the Harlem Renaissance 1920-1930; the Depression Era 1938-1940 ; World War II and the Post-War Period 1940-1960; Civil Rights/Black P ower Movement 1960-1970; and Contemporary Literature 1978-1996. The re sults show these particular qualities in African-American Literature: use of explicit, distinctive language and folk idioms; protests agains t dehumanization and victimization; awakened moral and racial consciou sness; emphasis on cultural nationalism; rebellion against racism, and a private search for self-realization by the characters.