Black Arts Movement
(left to right): Gil Scott-Heron's album cover, writer Maya Angelou, African American women performing West African dances, artwork by Emory Douglas
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The Black Arts Movement
By: The Editors, Poetry Foundation An introduction showcasing one of the most influential cultural and aesthetic movements of the last 100 years, with links to poetry. |
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Blues People:
Negro Music in White America By: LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) Baraka explores the possibility that the history of Black Americans can be traced through the evolution of their music. |
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Transbluesency:
The Selected Poems of Amiri Baraka By: Amiri Baraka A collection of LeRoi Jones' (Amiri Baraka) most famous poems includes Civil Rights Poem, Young Soul, and Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note. |
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A Nation within a Nation: Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) & Black Power Politics
By: Komozi Woodard Komozi Woodard traces Baraka's transformation from poet to political activist, as the rise of the Black Arts Movement pulled him from political obscurity in the Beat circles of Greenwich Village, swept him into the center of the Black Power Movement, and ultimately propelled him into the ranks of Black national political leadership. |
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A Raisin in the Sun (play)
By: Lorraine Hansberry The story tells of a Black family's experiences in south Chicago, as they attempt to improve their financial circumstances with an insurance payout following the death of the father, and deals with matters of housing discrimination, racism, and assimilation. |
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Angels of Ascent: The Norton Anthology of African American Poetry
By: Charles Henry Rowell An excerpt of poems from Sonia Sanchez including “Homecoming,” “Malcolm,” and “blk/rhetoric.” |
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A Sun Lady for All Seasons Reads Her Poetry
By: Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez’s first spoken word album, featuring the poems “A Black/Woman/Speaks,” “Liberation / Poem,” “So This is Our Revolution,” “Welcome Home, My Prince,” “To Fanon,” and more.
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
By: Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first of seven autobiographical works by American writer Maya Angelou, published in 1969. The book chronicles her life from age 3 through age 16, recounting an unsettled and sometimes traumatic childhood that included rape and racism. |
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The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
By: Maya Angelou The volumes included in the collection are Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975), And Still I Rise (1978), Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? (1983), and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990). Also included was "On the Pulse of Morning." |
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Nobody Knows My Name:
More Notes of a Native Son By: James Baldwin A collection of essays on race in the U.S. Mahmoud Darwish wrote, “I felt as if James were writing about me personally, about the ‘Negroes’ in Israel, making only minor adjustments to the details in the picture. When he wrote about love, he was narrating my love story. And when he wrote about hate, he reflected my hate.” |
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The Fire Next Time
By: James Baldwin The first essay, written in the form of a letter to Baldwin's 14-year-old nephew, discusses the central role of race in U.S. history. The second essay, which takes up the majority of the book, deals with the relations between race and religion, focusing in particular on Baldwin's experiences with the Christian church as a youth, as well as the Islamic ideas of others in Harlem. |
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Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud
By: James Brown This is a funk song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis in 1968. The song became an unofficial anthem of the Black Power Movement.
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The Creator Has a Master Plan
By: Pharoah Sanders Sanders was a jazz saxophonist. His take on "spiritual jazz" was rooted in his inspiration from religious concepts such as توحيد. |
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The Minstrel
Music by: Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble Philip Cohran is a jazz musician affiliated with Sun Ra's Arkestra. |
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To Be Young, Gifted, and Black
Performed by: Nina Simone Nina Simone’s song celebrating Black youth, inspired by Lorraine Hansberry and her play of the same name. |
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The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
By: Gil Scott-Heron Gil Scott-Heron’s incendiary 1971 song showcasing a message of righteous anger and political assertiveness. |
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The Art of Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth Catlett began her career during the Harlem Renaissance and continued into the Black Arts Movement. She worked in prints, paintings, and sculptures. Due to her political beliefs, she was banned from returning to the U.S. and lived in Mexico for several years. |
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The Art of Faith Ringold
Paintings, sculptures, and quilts by artist Faith Ringold. Her work was inspired by writers from the Black Arts Movement. |