Ron Karenga's Black Cultural Nationalism

1167 Words3 Pages

The people of the black culture need a motivating force behind their community. They need a black aesthetic to motivate them and incline them to support the revolution. The black aesthetic itself will not be enough to motivate the people; they will need black art to help them understand what they are supporting. The art in the black culture needs an aesthetic to get the message across to its viewers and allow them to understand the meaning behind pieces of artwork. One of Ron Karenga’s points is how people need to respond positively to the artwork because it then shows that the artist got the main idea to the audience and helps to motivate them to support the revolution. In “Black Cultural Nationalism”, the author, Ron Karenga, argues that …show more content…

It is getting the people of the community to support the revolution and make for a better life. In the essay it states, “Black art must expose the enemy, praise the people and support the revolution” (52). Black art is important to the survival of the black culture and the key to a better life, by revolution. Ron Karenga relies the message that a black aesthetic is essential to the revolution, in that it will help to judge the validity of the art in the black culture. If art is not to support the black revolution, it is invalid and useless to the community. This aesthetic will set guidelines for art and help to make art more focused on the revolution to help the community thrive. Karenga wants all art to support the revolution, no matter the art it needs to support the revolution or it is invalid to the black aesthetic. The artwork must be functional in getting its message through to the audience and inclining them to support and participate in the revolution, because in the end it will only help them get to a better …show more content…

Karenga wanted a black aesthetic to judge the validity of the artwork. He wants it to support the revolution and motivate the people about the better times to come. Black art needs to be functional, collective, and committing. It will be judged on two levels, the artistic and social, mostly social though. Karenga wants art to express his hatred for the white man and motivate others to hate the white man. He wants everyone to forget about the past and not let that effect how they feel. The black community has to leave the past in the past so they can focus and not miss out on the opportunity that is presented before them. The art needs to remind them of their hatred for the enemy and their commitment for the permeant revolution that they will fight

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