Amiri Baraka: The Poet Who United Black America During the Fight for Civil Rights
How a provocative poet used art to challenge systemic racism in the 1960s
Published in
9 min readMay 18, 2024
“The Artist’s role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely. That’s how I see it. Otherwise, I don’t know why you do it.” — Amiri Baraka
Obscured by the shadows of our most notable civil rights figures, hidden in the crevasse of history, lies the story of a poet who fearlessly challenged racial oppression through art. He unified black voices, strengthened the Black Power Movement, and ruffled feathers during the fight for civil rights.
He’s been criticized as crass and would eventually adopt questionable views. Some have denounced him as a hypocrite who propagated the same violence that he wished to denounce. Nevertheless, Amiri Baraka pioneered the Black Arts Movement in 1960s America, and his influence permeates culture through today’s music, film, and literature.
