Why did James Baldwin call it "magnificent twenties"?

Question

In his "*Many Thousands Gone*", Baldwin wrote > The Negro, who had been during the magnificent twenties a passionate > and delightful primitive, now became, as one of the things we were > most self-conscious about, our most oppressed minority. It seems like there was a change in attitude towards black community. And there was a time--"*magnificent twenties*"--that African American was "passionate and delightful". I wondering what events or period of time Baldwin was referring to? Thank you

Answer 1

He is referring to the 1920s which, particularly in American history, are viewed as a decade of debauchery, crime, and parties - the vibe of The Great Gatsby. Women wore their dresses shorter, men smoked too much, and drinking of alcohol continued despite the illegality of its sale and consumption. Black people became more visible in the public eye through performers like Josephine Baker, a famous flapper. However, minstrel shows also became more popular. These shows famously had white people paint their faces black (blackface) and perform racial stereotypes of African-Americans. This is the root of the character Aunt Jemima, now famous for syrup. These stereotypes are what Baldwin is referring to when he says the black American had become a "passionate and delightful primitive." Magnificent here does not being wonderful. Rather, it is referencing the overwhelming, cartoonish nature of the 1920s that magnified and distorted African-American life in America.

This image of black people Baldwin describes shifted drastically in the 1930s after the crash of the stock market in 1929. Suddenly, there was not a a wide gap in socioeconomic status between white and black people. They had to begin to row the boat together or prepare to sink.