2. 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
Blue highlighted
keywords lead to
videos to enhance
knowledge.
Purple highlighted
words are defined
when clicked on.
3. 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.
4. 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
5. Incendiary-tending to
arouse strife,.
,
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
6. 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.
7. 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.
8.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.”
