The Nation of Islam and Black Consciousness; The Works of Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, and Other Writers

182 Pages·2019·0.758 MB·English

by  Ammar Abduh Aqeeli

73
73
A
Q
E
E
The Nation of Islam and Black Consciousness: The Works of Amiri Baraka, L
I
Sonia Sanchez, and Other Writers engages in the scholarly discussions about
T
the origins and formation of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, The Nation
h
which rarely give credit to the role of the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) teachings
e
in the emergence of the movement and in shaping the subjects and themes
N
of its literary works. This book reevaluates the common belief that Malcolm
a
X is the most appealing black historical fi gure in the movement’s literature of Islam
t
and demonstrates how the NOI’s perception of black consciousness shaped i
o
the aesthetic sensibilities of the movement’s poets and playwrights in their n
fi ghts against anti-black racism. The Nation of Islam and Black Consciousness o
can be used in African American literature courses as it provides a thorough f and Black

analysis of hidden literary texts written by black writers in the 1960s and I
s
1970s. Reading this book today will help readers refl ect on how a narrow l
a
understanding of “Americanness” is threatening to the American ideals of m
diversity and inclusiveness on which America was founded. Moreover, this
Consciousness
a
book is useful for those who are interested in studying how identity politics
n
functions to achieve certain social and cultural goals.
d

B
l
a
c
k The Works of Amiri Baraka,

C
Sonia Sanchez, and Other Writers
o
Ammar Abduh Aqeeli received his PhD in literature from Kent State
n
University. He currently works as an assistant professor at Jazan University s
c
in Saudi Arabia.
i
o
u
s
n
e
s
s
P
E
T
E
R

L
A
N Ammar Abduh Aqeeli
G
www.peterlang.com
73
73
A
Q
E
E
The Nation of Islam and Black Consciousness: The Works of Amiri Baraka, L
I
Sonia Sanchez, and Other Writers engages in the scholarly discussions about
T
the origins and formation of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, The Nation
h
which rarely give credit to the role of the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) teachings
e
in the emergence of the movement and in shaping the subjects and themes
N
of its literary works. This book reevaluates the common belief that Malcolm
a
X is the most appealing black historical fi gure in the movement’s literature of Islam
t
and demonstrates how the NOI’s perception of black consciousness shaped i
o
the aesthetic sensibilities of the movement’s poets and playwrights in their n
fi ghts against anti-black racism. The Nation of Islam and Black Consciousness o
can be used in African American literature courses as it provides a thorough f and Black

analysis of hidden literary texts written by black writers in the 1960s and I
s
1970s. Reading this book today will help readers refl ect on how a narrow l
a
understanding of “Americanness” is threatening to the American ideals of m
diversity and inclusiveness on which America was founded. Moreover, this
Consciousness
a
book is useful for those who are interested in studying how identity politics
n
functions to achieve certain social and cultural goals.
d

B
l
a
c
k The Works of Amiri Baraka,

C
Sonia Sanchez, and Other Writers
o
Ammar Abduh Aqeeli received his PhD in literature from Kent State
n
University. He currently works as an assistant professor at Jazan University s
c
in Saudi Arabia.
i
o
u
s
n
e
s
s
P
E
T
E
R

L
A
N Ammar Abduh Aqeeli
G
www.peterlang.com
The Nation of Islam
and Black Consciousness
Yoshinobu Hakutani
General Editor

Vol. 73

The Modern American Literature series is part of the Peter Lang Humanities list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Ammar Abduh Aqeeli
The Nation of Islam
and Black Consciousness
The Works of Amiri Baraka,
Sonia Sanchez, and Other Writers
PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Aqeeli, Ammar Abduh, author.
Title: The Nation of Islam and black consciousness: the works of
Amiri Bakara, Sonia Sanchez, and other writers / Ammar Abduh Aqeeli.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2019.
Series: Modern American literature: new approaches; vol. 73 | ISSN 1078-0521
Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019004922 | ISBN 978-1-4331-6530-6 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6531-3 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6532-0 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6533-7 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: American literature—African American authors—History and criticism.
African American authors—Political and social views.
American literature—20th century—History and criticism. | Black Arts movement.
Baraka, Amiri, 1934–2014—Political and social views.
Sanchez, Sonia, 1934– —Political and social views.
Nation of Islam (Chicago, Ill.)—Influence.
Classification: LCC PS153.N5 A83 2019 | DDC 810.9/896073—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019004922
DOI 10.3726/b15046
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.
© 2019 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com
All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Amiri Baraka: The Development of an
Artist Black Consciousness 23
Chapter 2 Amiri Baraka and the Rise of the Black Arts Movement 59
Chapter 3 Sonia Sanchez: The Woman Role to Restore Positive
Black Consciousness 97
Chapter 4 Black Consciousness: A Means Toward
Sociopolitical Reform 131
Conclusion 165

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am deeply thankful to my family for their love, support, and sacrifices. My
beloved parents were giving me moral support while I was writing this book,
for which I will be eternally grateful. My dear wife, Shymaa, has always been
there for me, providing counseling in situations where I had lost hope. She
has encouraged me to overcome the obstacles that I faced during my research.
She has been a good teacher and a friend. My children have provided spiritual
support for my book. They have prayed for me and have consoled me when I
was depressed.