Urban Poetry: The Black Arts Movement
Unite, Barbara Jones, 1971
About the Author
Bob Eisberg is a sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade language arts
literacy teacher in the citywide honors program at Forest Hill Elementary School
in Camden, N.J., an inner-city community near Philadelphia. He previously was a reporter and editor at
the Philadelphia Daily News and other newspapers.
“Forging the 20th Century Urban Identity” is Mr.
Eisberg’s fourth National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar or
institute. Attending these summer
programs has allowed him to pursue detailed study of various themes in
literature and history, to develop new approaches to teaching and learning, and
to build bridges with some of the most accomplished and passionate
teacher-scholars in the country.
Unit
Objectives
As in other parts of Urban Poetry unit, students should master the
following objectives in the study of the Black Arts Movement:
·
Analyze authors’ motives for writing specific poems.
·
Identify the connection between themes and images in specific
poems, particularly as they relate to urban life.
·
Compare and contrast themes in poems, not only among poems of the
era, but with poems of previous and later periods.
·
Analyze the way authors show distinctive urban voices in poetry.
·
Describe authors’ use of diction, tone, rhyme, meter, figurative
language and other devices in poetry.
·
Demonstrate how the authors’ work is connected to the social
movements of their times.
·
Explain the connections between the authors’ work and other arts
of the time, including those in drama, music and visual arts.
·
Respond in a variety of forms to themes and images in selected
poems.
·
Demonstrate their own voice in planning, writing, revising,
publishing and performing poetry.
The objectives relate to the following New Jersey core curriculum
standards for language arts literacy:
·
Standard 3.1: All students will speak for a variety of real
purposes and audiences.
·
Standard 3.2: All students will listen actively in a variety of
situations to information from a variety of sources.
·
Standard 3.3: All students will write in clear, concise, organized
language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.
·
Standard 3.4: All students will read various materials and texts
with comprehension and critical analysis.
·
Standard 3.5: All students will view, understand, and use
non-textual visual information.
The objectives also relate to the following New Jersey cross-content workplace readiness standards:
·
Standard 2: All students will use technology, information and
other tools.
·
Standard 3: All students will use critical thinking,
decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
The Black Arts Movement in Brief
The
Black Arts Movement has been called the sister of the Black Power movement that
gained force, and generated controversy, from the mid-1960s to the
mid-1970s. The work produced by key
figures in the movement, including Amiri Baraka, who opened the Black Arts
Repertory Theatre/School in Harlem for which the movement was named, was
intended to convincingly and dramatically awaken black people to the meaning of
their lives. Black artists were called
upon to be morally and culturally responsible to black people for their work.
As
in other movements, there was conflict about the political and artistic
qualities of works that were produced, but the movement created a variety of
journals and anthologies, such as Black Fire, and it flourished in a
variety of locations. Urban centers and
college campuses often were the scenes of new black theaters and organizations
of nationalist-minded artists, writers, dancers and musicians. University black studies departments were
frequently organized during this period.
Works in the movement were often criticized for their apocalyptic quality and for their harsh treatment of women and homosexuals. Although the end of the movement is difficult to pinpoint, scholars contend that the decline was based largely on growing political differences but that its influences on key artists remained.
It
is difficult sometimes to classify specific artists as Black Arts Movement
poets. Baraka, for example, was well
known for his participation in the Beat Movement as LeRoi Jones. Gwendolyn Brooks had a long list of
well-received work to her credit before the mid-1960s, but she developed a more
militant aesthetic during this period.
Poets and Poems for Student Study
|
“All
in the Street,” in Baraka, Spirit Reach, Newark, N.J.: Jihad Productions,
1972, 10-13. “A
Poem for Democrats,” in Jones, The Dead Lecturer, New York: Grove
Press, 1964, 39. “Letter
to E. Franklin Frazier,” in Vangelisti, Paul, ed., Transbluency: The
Selected Poems of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones (1961-1995). New York: Marsilio,
1995, 121. “History
on Wheel,” in Transbluency, 151. “Return
of the Native,” in Randall, Dudley, ed., The Black Poets: A New Anthology,
New York: Bantam, 1968, 222. |
|
|
Bethune,
Lebert |
“Harlem
Freeze Frame” in Jones, Leroi, and Larry Neal, eds., Black Fire: An
Anthology of Afro-American Writing.
New York: William Morrow, 1968, 382. |
|
“The
Boy Died in My Alley” in Brooks, Beckonings, Detroit: Broadside Press,
1975, 5-6. “The
Life of Lincoln West,” in Brooks, Family Pictures, Detroit: Broadside
Press, 1970, 9-13. “The
Wall,” in Brooks, In the Mecca, New York: Harper & Row, 1968,
42-43. “Riot,”
in Brooks, Riot, Detroit: Broadside Press, 1969, 9-10. |
|
|
“To
Mother and Steve,” in The Black
Poets: A New Anthology, 184-186. |
|
|
“Nikki-Rosa,”
in Giovanni, The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni, New York: William
Morrow, 1996, 42. “Walking
Down Park,” in Selected Poems, 80-82. “Ego
Tripping (there may be a reason why),” in Selected Poems, 92. “Just
a New York Poem,” in Selected Poems, 126-127. “We,”
in Selected Poems, 148. “The
New Yorkers,” in Selected Poems, 187-190. “Iverson’s
Posse,” in Giovanni, Blues: For all the Changes: New Poems, New York:
William Morrow, 1999, 82-84. |
|
|
Harper,
Michael |
“A
Mother Speaks: The Algiers Motel Incident,” in The Black Poets,
291-292. |
|
“Summertime
and the Living…” in Hayden, Selected Poems, New York: October House,
1966, 53. “Elegies
for Paradise Valley,” in Hayden, American Journal, Taunton, Mass.:
Effendi, 1978, unpaginated. “The
Rag Man,” in American Journal. “Words in the Mourning Time,” in Hayden, Words in the Mourning Time, London: October House, 1970, 41-51. |
|
|
“Poem
from the Empire State,” in The Black Poets, 248. |
|
|
Jordan,
Norman |
“Clairvoyance,”
in Black Spirits, 96. |
|
“Back
Again, Home (confessions of an ex-executive),” in The Black Poets,
295. “Big
Momma,” in The Black Poets, 304-306. |
|
|
Major,
Clarence |
“Widow,”
in Black Spirits, 131. |
|
“The
Narrative of the Black Magicians,” in Black Fire, 312-314. “Harlem
Gallery: From the Inside,” in The Black Poets, 268. |
|
|
“The
Melting Pot,” in The Black Poets, 141-142. “Roses
and Revolution,” in The Black Poets, 142-143. “Ballad
of Birmingham,” in The Black Poets, 143-144. “The
Idiot,” in The Black Poets, 144-145. |
|
|
Reed,
Clarence |
“Harlem
’67,” in Black Fire, 404-405. |
|
Rivers,
Conrad Kent |
“The
Still Voice of Harlem,” in Hayden, Robert, ed., Kaleidoscope: Poems by
American Negro Poets, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1967, 206. “The
Subway,” in Kaleidoscope, 207. |
Sanchez, Sonia |
“—a
poem for nina simone to put some music to and blow our nigguh / minds—,’’ in
Sanchez, We a BaddDDD People, Detroit: Broadside Press, 1970, 60. “a
ballad for stirling steet (to be sung),” in We a BaddDDD People,
66-67. |
|
“Lady
Day and John Coltrane,” in Scott-Heron, So Far, So Good, Chicago:
Third World Press, 1990, 28. “The
Bottle,” in So Far, So Good, 34. “Small
Talk at 125th and Lenox,” in So Far, So Good, 38. “Paint
It Black,” in So Far, So Good, 39. “The
Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” in So Far, So Good, 46-48. |
|
|
“A
Sequence from The Roach Brothers, a Play,” in Black Spirits, 194-197. |
Teaching Strategies
·
Preview unit by asking students to interview older relatives and
friends about their memories of the 1960s and 1970s and report back in writing
or orally. It is expected that students
will gain descriptions of music and clothing of the era as well as insights
into social unrest and turmoil.
·
Begin examination of poetry by examining in a full class setting a
poem such as Nikki Giovanni’s “Ego Tripping” and contrasting it to earlier
poems such as Langston Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”
·
In small groups, develop webs about tone demonstrated in selected
poems and report to full class.
·
Select specific poems for examination in personal poetry journals.
·
Draw pictures based on teacher or student reading of selected
poems to demonstrate how poems ignite mental images. Use these pictures for bulletin board displays as unit
progresses.
·
View videos such the 1999 PBS series “I’ll Make Me a World” and
“Eyes On The Prize II: America At The Racial Crossroads.”
·
Connect to other expressions of black power movement by
examining the words, actions and images
of figures from Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee and Huey P. Newton of the Black Panther party to Tommie
Smith and John Carlos, athletes expelled from the Olympics for giving the black
power salute.
·
View and describe the style and themes of such visual artists as
Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Howardena Pindell, and Faith Ringgold.
·
Listen to recordings of songs such as “I’m Black and I’m Proud” by
James Brown.
·
Using Internet and printed resources, write brief, illustrated
reports about selected authors.
·
In pairs or other appropriate small groups, brainstorm ideas,
images and literary devices for poems about current inner city issues,
including those related to family life, school, leisure and social
problems.
·
Using ideas from brainstorming sessions, write individual poems on
a daily or weekly basis in poetry journals.
·
After appropriate peer editing, publish selected work from poetry
journals and place in school collection for other classes or include in school
publications.
·
Perform poems as part of school or community assembly.
Teacher Resources
Books
Baraka, Imamu Amiri. Spirit
Reach, Newark, N.J.: Jihad Productions1972, 10-13.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Beckonings.
Detroit: Broadside Press, 1975.
—. Family Pictures.
Detroit: Broadside Press, 1970.
—. In the Mecca. New
York: Harper & Row, 1968.
—. Riot. Detroit:
Broadside Press, 1969.
Giovanni, Nikki. The
Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni. New York: William Morrow, 1996.
—. Blues: For all the
Changes: New Poems. New York: William Morrow, 1999.
Hayden, Robert. Selected
Poems. New York: October House, 1966.
—. American Journal. Taunton, Mass.: Effendi Press, 1978.
—. Words in the Mourning
Time. London: October House, 1970.
Hayden, Robert, ed., Kaleidoscope:
Poems by American Negro Poets, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1967.
Jones, LeRoi, The Dead
Lecturer. New York: Grove Press, 1964.
Jones, LeRoi, and Larry
Neal, eds. Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing. New York: William Morrow, 1968.
King, Woodie,
ed. Black Spirits: A Festival of New Black Poets in America. New York:
Random House, 1972.
Randall, Dudley, ed. The Black Poets: A New Anthology. New
York: Bantam, 1985.
Scott-Heron, Gil. So Far,
So Good. Chicago: Third World Press, 1990
Vangelisti, Paul, ed. Transbluency:
The Selected Poems of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones (1961-1995). New York:
Marsilio, 1995.
Videorecordings
“Not a rhyme time, 1963-1986,” from the series “I’ll Make Me a World,” produced by Blackside, Inc., in association with Thirteen/WNET New York ; executive producer, Henry Hampton. Alexandria, Va., PBS Video, 1999.
“Ain't gonna shuffle
no more, 1964-1972,” from the series “Eyes on the Prize II: America at the
Racial Crossroads,” a production of Blackside; produced, directed, and written
by Sam Polland, Sheila Bernard.
Alexandria, Va., PBS Video, 1990.
Additional Links
More information on the Black Arts Movement can be found at the
following sites:
·
A site for a University of Michigan course: http://www.umich.edu/~eng499/
·
Modern American Poetry online journal citations: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/blackarts/blackarts.htm
·
An article from The Oxford Companion to African American Literature (New
York, Oxford University Press, 1997), on the African American Literature Book
Club site: http://aalbc.com/poet/blackartsmovement.htm
·
An article from Africana.com: http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_438.htm
An excellent gallery of works of visual artists from the period,
from the University of Virginia, can be found at: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~bsh8f/blackart.html