Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones): The Elements of his Black Nationalism

This book represents a new perspective to the study of Amiri Baraka's black nationalist literary works of the 1960s. It emphasizes the centrality of the East with reference to the Middle East and ancient Africa to Baraka's black nationalist politics, activities and beliefs. Baraka always connected the liberation of black Americans to the East. His awareness of the East, the book shows, arose from the necessity to de-historicize the current black American history, a history of enslavement, suffering and acculturation. Baraka always advocated the need for black Americans to create an alternative reality in rejection of the current tragic one. That sought reality had to be obtained from sources other than those of the white Americans. It existed in the black man's pre-slavery time. The book argues that the East was used by Baraka as a model to de-historicize the black man's current history by focusing on a proud and glorifying past in the Middle East and ancient Africa. It presents three Eastern elements as the main black nationalist strategies adopted by Baraka in his black nationalist struggle: Occidentalism (anti-Americanization), Islamization and Africanization.

Autorentext

Fawaz Jazim is an Associate Professor of English literature in the Department of English, Sana'a University, Yemen and Hail University, the KSA. His research interests is to explore how literature is a statement of community. Recently he has developed an interest in the use of technology in higher education amid the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020.

Klappentext

This book represents a new perspective to the study of Amiri Baraka's black nationalist literary works of the 1960s. It emphasizes the centrality of the East with reference to the Middle East and ancient Africa to Baraka's black nationalist politics, activities and beliefs. Baraka always connected the liberation of black Americans to the East. His awareness of the East, the book shows, arose from the necessity to de-historicize the current black American history, a history of enslavement, suffering and acculturation. Baraka always advocated the need for black Americans to create an alternative reality in rejection of the current tragic one. That sought reality had to be obtained from sources other than those of the white Americans. It existed in the black man's pre-slavery time. The book argues that the East was used by Baraka as a model to de-historicize the black man's current history by focusing on a proud and glorifying past in the Middle East and ancient Africa. It presents three Eastern elements as the main black nationalist strategies adopted by Baraka in his black nationalist struggle: Occidentalism (anti-Americanization), Islamization and Africanization.