<P> Characterizing the Harlem Renaissance was an overt racial pride that came to be represented in the idea of the New Negro, who through intellect and production of literature, art, and music could challenge the pervading racism and stereotypes to promote progressive or socialist politics, and racial and social integration . The creation of art and literature would serve to "uplift" the race . </P> <P> There would be no uniting form singularly characterizing the art that emerged from the Harlem Renaissance . Rather, it encompassed a wide variety of cultural elements and styles, including a Pan-African perspective, "high - culture" and "low - culture" or "low - life," from the traditional form of music to the blues and jazz, traditional and new experimental forms in literature such as modernism and the new form of jazz poetry . This duality meant that numerous African - American artists came into conflict with conservatives in the black intelligentsia, who took issue with certain depictions of black life . </P> <P> Some common themes represented during the Harlem Renaissance were the influence of the experience of slavery and emerging African - American folk traditions on black identity, the effects of institutional racism, the dilemmas inherent in performing and writing for elite white audiences, and the question of how to convey the experience of modern black life in the urban North . </P> <P> The Harlem Renaissance was one of primarily African - American involvement . It rested on a support system of black patrons, black - owned businesses and publications . However, it also depended on the patronage of white Americans, such as Carl Van Vechten and Charlotte Osgood Mason, who provided various forms of assistance, opening doors which otherwise might have remained closed to the publication of work outside the black American community . This support often took the form of patronage or publication . Carl Van Vechten was one of the most noteworthy white Americans involved with the Harlem Renaissance . He allowed for assistance to the black American community because he wanted racial sameness . </P>

What was a key theme of harlem renaissance writers