"WITH THE RISE OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE, BLACK CULTURE HAS BECOME A PRIMARY ACKNOWLEDGED INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN CULTURE. BECAUSE WHAT IT DID WAS IT MADE AMERICA AWARE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN, NOT AS THE DEROGATORY STEREOTYPE THAT HAD BEEN PORTRAYED IN AMERICAN CULTURE FOR MANY DECADES, BUT AS WHAT THEY CALL THE "NEW NEGRO" WHO WAS EDUCATED, INCREDIBLY CULTURED, AND PART OF THE SOCIETY THAT WAS REALLY VALUABLE. AND THE FIRST STEP TOWARD THAT SORT OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND PUBLIC DEBT WAS THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE."