The Black Arts Movement Analysis

In Larry Neal’s essay entitled, The Black Arts Movement, he writes that “the motive behind the Black aesthetic is the destruction of the white thing. The destruction of white ideas, and white ways of looking at the world” (Neal, The Black Arts Movement). Larry Neal defines the Black Aesthetic as such, to emphasize that the motive of the movement is to destroy things all white and is also introducing the politics of the movement. Neal echoes the views of Malcolm X, who urged for a cultural revolution with the purpose of embracing Black people and their culture, while rejecting the white mainstream. In rejecting the white mainstream, Neal also advocated that the new writers gaining recognition in the movement should confront the “contradictions …show more content…
Giovanni acknowledges that when she started writing, she was heavily concerned about the Black situation in the world, but came to realize that gender bias was a real problem. (Fowler, 1992, 127). Giovanni stated herself that “I am an individual first; I am a woman. I understand the problems of being black; I am black.” (Fowler, 1992, 127) As an artist, she refused to be controlled by her gender and forced to commit to only one cause. Giovanni was an outspoken female poet who wrote about the struggles of being a black female and embraced individualism as an artist while others shied away or had to hide it within their writings. Giovanni is clearly a revolutionary poet and helped Black women’s voices be heard when men have tried to prevent …show more content…
The two branches of the Black Power Movement, the Black Panther Party, and the Black Arts Movement, allowed for a way to reach the Black community directly and uplift them out of the turmoil they were in. The Blacks Arts Repertoire Theater acted as visual representation of the struggles many Blacks faced and taught ways how Blacks can deal with the injustices thrown their way. In addition, artists like Amiri Baraka, Larry Neal, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni, spoke to the Black struggles and advised on to surpass white domination and to love oneself and progress as a people. Even though the Black Arts Movement has received criticism for its lack of support in women, women voices were still able to prevail. While the movement ended in 1975, its long-lasting impacts lie in its effect on Black people and the Black artists’ role to their people which is to uplift them when they are in