Maulana Karenga's Black Cultural Nationalism

1037 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The revolution will not be televised summary

The Black arts movement created a new medium that had its own distinct black aesthetic to bring about and inspire revolutionary change. Karenga’s essay “Black Cultural Nationalism” outlines three distinct components that black art must meet in order to be true black art. These three components are that “it must be functional, collective, and committing.” What this means is that black art must serve a purpose towards revolutionary change. It cannot simple be “art for arts sake” but rather must be a means by which artists make revolution through a medium that awakens, invigorates, and inspires revolution with in the black community. Gil Scott-Heron’s poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” commits its audience to a revolutionary awakening by emphasizing the importance of being a part of this change, which ties into what Maulana Karenga asserts about the “function of art is to make …show more content…

The poem is a perfect example of how form and message come together in a uniquely black aesthetic that can be measured to, the three criteria that Karenga sets as qualification for black art. It is functional in the sense that the main message of the poem is to galvanize black people to support the revolution and wake them up to the message that the revolution will wait for no one nor will it be something that they can ignore. This view is further supported by Karenga who states “black art must expose the enemy, praise the people and support the revolution.” Within the poem we see NBC and famous white people being quoted and identified as people who will not support or stand up to for revolution for black people. This further supports the authors view and message to his audience that revolution is something that they have to seize themselves because if they don’t stand up for themselves no one else

Show More
Related

  • Emory Douglas: All Power to the People

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gun-slinging, militant-looking, irate adolescent African American men, women, and children: an incessant image employed by the revolutionary artist Emory Douglas. Douglas is perhaps one of the most iconic artists’ of the 20th century and has created thousands of influential protest images that remain unforgettable to this day. Through the use of compelling images Emory Douglas aided in defining the distinct visual aesthetic of the Black Panther Party’s newspapers, pamphlets, and posters. It was through such mediums that Douglas had the ability to enlighten and provoke a predominately illiterate and uneducated community via visual communication, illustrating that art can evolve into an overpowering device to precipitate social and political change.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Narrative

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though this poem is only a small snapshot of what I personally thought Douglass was going through, I could never adequately understand the frustration he must have had. My hope in writing this poem was not to provide a psychoanalysis or theoretical idea structure to any audience, but rather to show that even today, a modern audience member like me, can appreciate the struggle of a fellow human and speak against injustices, specifically in Douglass’s time.

    Read More

  • Messages from Point of View in Langston Hughes’ I too

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of that, his writing seems to manifest a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is expressed in his writing. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American, the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance than they ordinarily would. The point of view of being the oppressed African American is clearly evident in Langston Hughes’s writing.

    Read More

  • The Black Struggle : Motown And Stax, A Black Owned Label

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before beginning to analyze both Motown and Stax Record’s influence on black consciousness it must first be understood why black consciousness itself can be seen as a step in the right direction in the fight against black struggle. Brian Ward does a great job of capturing the true success of soul music’s influence on black consciousness. Ward says, “[Black radio’s] real strength… was its ability to dramatize and celebrate shared aspects of the black experience… to promote a revived sense of black identity, pride, solidarity and common consciousness” (Ward 449). In his book, Ward also points out that despite this successful development of black consciousness, there was limited success both economically and structurally on behalf of the black music industry. This shows that even though ther...

    Read More

  • The Mighty Vice Lords: Book Review Of The Mighty Vice Lords

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another thing he was trying to do with this book is to show people that black street leaders can become local heroes. Even though they might have started out as street fighters, they can change their life to become a political group and work towards changing the system that they feel will never accept them for the people that they really are. In this book the author shows you a way to build this nation’s communities that are very much under resourced. It also lets you know that there are things that we can do to change a bad situation, as long as we are willing to work towards making a change and there also must be resources available to help make that change. In other words, “where there’s a will, there’s a

    Read More

  • America, by Claude McKay

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality, only to find out that at this time equality for blacks does not exist. It is written for fellow black men, in an effort to make them understand that the American dream is not something to abandon hope in, but something to fight for. The struggle of putting up with the racist mistreatment is evident even in the first four lines:

    Read More

  • The History Of Black Nationalism

    2176 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... no means of escaping their poverty. Black Nationalism provided cultural enrichment, social uplift, and political literacy to a group of people who had been cast aside and forgotten. Although, it is often remember as a belief system obscured by turmoil and dissidence, Black Nationalism, at its heart was created as a means of community outreach and support. Van Horne writes, “Black power is thus a most beautiful concept,” he continues by saying, “the ultimate values and goals [of Black Power] are not domination or exploitation of other groups, but rather an effective share in the total power of the society [since] there can be no social order without social justice,” (Vanhorne 374). Those who argue that Black Nationalism is at its root evil, have done themselves a great disservice in failing to see the underlying inclusiveness of this great sociopolitical movement.

    Read More

  • Ron Karenga's Black Cultural Nationalism

    1167 Words  | 3 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

    Read More

  • Ballad Of Birmingham

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.

    Read More

  • The Importance of African-American Studies

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Karenga, Malauna. Introduction to Black Studies. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press –Third Edition, 2002.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast A Black Man Talks Of Reaping And From The Dark Tower

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theme throughout the two poems "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" is the idea that African American live in an unjust

    Read More

  • Life Behind the Veil in Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk

    2290 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...one existing trapped within the view of hegemonic society; angry, but powerless so long as he remains in this state. Yet Sanchez provides a succinct plan for Black Americans in their quest to ascend the Veil: to exist as both African and American while feeding white America a pacifying view of a half truth-destruction fueled by deadly ignorance. The speakers of the poems are merely victims of the same system, seeking the same freedom. While the works of these authors differ greatly, one characteristic is common in both works: The desire for power to ascend the Veil that hangs heavily upon them like a cloak that prevents their ascension. The desire to live beyond the Veil.

    Read More

  • Black Poetry

    2173 Words  | 5 Pages

    Over the course of the century chronicling the helm of slavery, the emancipation, and the push for civil, equal, and human rights, black literary scholars have pressed to have their voice heard in the midst a country that would dare classify a black as a second class citizen. Often, literary modes of communication were employed to accomplish just that. Black scholars used the often little education they received to produce a body of works that would seek to beckon the cause of freedom and help blacks tarry through the cruelties, inadequacies, and inconveniences of their oppressed condition. To capture the black experience in America was one of the sole aims of black literature. However, we as scholars of these bodies of works today are often unsure as to whether or not we can indeed coin the phrase “Black Literature” or, in this case, “Black poetry”. Is there such a thing? If so, how do we define the term, and what body of writing can we use to determine the validity of the definition. Such is the aim of this essay because we can indeed call a poem “Black”. We can define “Black poetry” as a body of writing written by an African-American in the United States that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or set of experiences inextricably linked to black people, characterizes a furious call or pursuit of freedom, and attempts to capture the black condition in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. An examination of several works of poetry by various Black scholars should suffice to prove that the definition does hold and that “Black Poetry” is a term that we can use.

    Read More

  • A Deeper Look: Langston Hughes's 'Ballad of the Landlord'

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ites a short 33-line poem that simply shows the barriers between races in the time period when racism was still openly practiced through segregation and discrimination. The poem captures the African American tenant’s frustrations towards the landlord as well as the racism shown by the landlord. The poem is a great illustration of the time period, and it shows how relevant discrimination was in everyday life in the nineteen-forties. It is important for the author to use the selected literary devices to help better illustrate his point. Each literary device in the poem helps exemplify the author’s intent: to increase awareness of the racism in the society in the time period.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” symbolically connects the fate of the speaker of the poem and his African American community to the indestructible and powerful force on Earth- the river. The river embodies both power and dominance but also a sense of comfort. The poem is a prime example of the message of hope and perseverance to anyone who has suffered or is currently suffering oppression and inequality in their lives and in society. The speaker in the poem pledges to the reader that with hard-work, determination, and willpower to succeed, he will get where he is going regardless of the obstacles and challenges he may face on his path of reaching his goals in life.

    Read More

More about Maulana Karenga's Black Cultural Nationalism

Open Document