Malcolm X's Effect

Poets and musicians of the Black Arts movement were compared to preachers. The poets were as important to the people as the preacher in the church and that was because they gave a language to what was happening with black folks at that time. But the poets and musicians were influenced by the preachers and the religion, especially the Islam.

Amiri Baraka was a famous Black Arts movement writer and as I said in the last post, was Amiri very influenced by Malcolm X. For the reason that he was very influenced by Malcolm X, he moved to Harlem after Malcolm X’s assassination. But he also changed his name from Leroi Jones to Amiri Baraka so that he could support Black Nationalism. After he moved to Harlem he started to become more active in the civil rights and could therefore found the Black Arts Repertory Theatre in Harlem in 1965. He also published a lot of work during this period, such as the Black Art (1966) and the Black Magic (1969). One thing Amiri Baraka did very well was to present the experiences and anger of black Americans with an affirmation of black life. Amiri Baraka is therefore a perfect example on how religion affected people in the Blacks Arts movement, because his belief made him move to Harlem, where he could write and get active.

“When the revolution comes Jesus Christ is gonna be standing on the
corner of Lenox Ave and 125th St trying to catch the first gypsy cab
out of Harlem when the revolution comes
When the revolution comes
Jew merchants will give away matza balls and gifilta fish to anyone
they see with afros
Frank Shieffin will give away the Apollo to the first person he sees
wearing a blue dashiki when the revolution comes” When The Revolution Comes
Written By Abiodun Oyewole

The Black Arts movement was not entirely separate from organized religion. Abiodun Oyewole was one of The Last Poets and he wrote poetry inspired by his practice in the African religion, Yoruba. Abiodun Oyewole was born as Charles Davis Jr. on February 1948. He is a poet, a teacher and one of the founding members of the legendary American music and spoken-word group; The Last Poets. The group developed into what can be said to be the first ever hip hop group. The group was born on May 19, 1968, Malcolm X's birthday, when Abiodun and the two others members, David Nelson, Gylan Kain, read poetry in tribute to Malcolm X. The group was based on Black Nationalism. The group quickly became recognized in the African-American communities. You can say that they were a big influence to the hip hop we have today.