The Black Arts Movement

By Denice Evans

Welcome to a lesson on the Black Arts Movement. In this lesson you will learn about the founder, members and intentions of a movement known to be one of the most significant in the History of African Americans & the perception of African Americans by other nationalities.

Throughout this presentation there are links to further your knowledge on key elements of this lesson.

Icons lead to questions throughout the presentation to assess comprehension

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Purple highlighted words are defined when clicked on.

The Black Arts Movement was the name given to a group of politically motivated black poets, artists, dramatists, musicians, and writers who emerged in the wake of the Black Power movement.

Throughout most of his career his method in poetry, drama, fiction, and essays was confrontational, calculated to shock and awaken audiences to the political concerns of black Americans.

For decades, Baraka was one of the most prominent voices in the world of American literature.

Baraka was well known for his harsh social criticism, often writing in an incendiary style that made it difficult for some audiences and critics to respond with objectivity to his works.

Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey.

Author of over 40 books of essays, poems, drama and music history and criticism

Incendiary-tending to arouse strife,.

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Definitions

Racism - the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races

Knowledge Challenge

1. The Black Arts Movement consisted of black politically motivated ____________.

3. Who was considered the father of the Black Arts Movement?

4. Why was Baraka’s style considered confrontational?

2. When did the Black Arts Movement begin? When did it end?

Lets see what you’ve learned, so far. Grab a pencil and answer these four questions.

Answers can be found by clicking on this icon.

The writers and artist of this time wanted to develop a body of artistic endeavors that would provide a “change of vision” in the perception of African American identity. They felt that artistic production would revise the stereotypes of African inferiority that lay at the heart of American racism.

The founding principles of the Black Arts Movement focused on black power, black economics, political success and reconstructing of the inner city communities. Instituting these principles was done by using literature, art, social institutions and black activist groups as a channel.

The Black Arts Movement strived to redefine how black Americans perceived themselves.The Black Freedom Movement’s focus was to redefine how black Americans were perceived and treated by white America. The Black Freedom Movement was considered the most significant southern social movement of the 20th century. The Black Arts Movement had its greatest impact in the New York/Newark area, and spread to Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, and San Francisco.The Black Freedom Movement impacted the Deep South, the movement was considered the freedom struggle to express the broad range of goals it encompassed.

Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Larry Neal, Maulana Karenga, and Dudley Randal were major players and writers of the Black Arts Movement.Most of their work centered on literary works describing social conditions, commenting political activity, and creating community establishments for the fine arts.

Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka)Larry Neal

Maulana Karenga Dudley Randal

Although marginalized at times, there were many prominent women writers that contributed in the literary aspect of the Black Arts Movement.Sonia Sanchez, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry and Nikki Giovanni are recognized Worldwide for their contributions.

Sonia Sanchez is an African-American poet and has authored over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays, plays, and children's books. In 1993, she was a recipient of Pew Fellowships in the Arts. And in 2001, she received the Robert Frost Medal for her poetry (one of the highest honors awarded to a nationally recognized poet).

Gwendolyn Brooks was an American poet and teacher. She was the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer prize when she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 for her second collection, Annie Allen

Lorraine Hansberry was the first black woman to write a play performed on Broadway. Her best known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of Black Americans living under racial segregation in Chicago

Nikki Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator, and one of the world's most well-known African American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She has won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal, the NAACP Image Award, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award, for her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she has recently been named as one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five “Living Legends.”

The Black Arts Movement