With Fists Raised
Radical Art, Contemporary Activism, and the Iconoclasm of the Black Arts Movement
Published on 2. February 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
328 pages
978-1-80207-543-4 (ISBN)
Description
There are deep black nationalist roots for many of the images and ideologies of contemporary racial justice efforts. This collection reconsiders the Black Aesthetic and the revolutionary art of the Black Arts Movement (BAM), forging connections between the recent past and contemporary social justice activism. Focusing on black literary and visual art of the Black Arts Movement, this collection highlights artists whose work diverged from narrow definitions of the Black Aesthetic and black nationalism. Adding to the reanimation of discourses surrounding BAM, this collection comes at a time when today's racial justice efforts are mining earlier eras for their iconography, ideology, and implementation. As numerous contemporary activists ground their work in the legacies of mid-twentieth century activism and adopt many of the grassroots techniques it fostered, this collection remembers and re-envisions the art that both supported and shaped that earlier era. It furthers contemporary conversations by exploring BAM's implications for cultural and literary studies and its legacy for current social justice work and the multiple arts that support it.
Reviews / Votes
'A unique text that will make an important contribution by fresh voices to the growing body of scholarship on the Black Arts Movement.'Jonathan Fenderson, Associate Professor, African & African-American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Liverpool
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
7 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80207-543-4 (9781802075434)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tru Leverette is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Africana Studies at the University of North Florida.
Content
Foreword: "The Umbra Origins of the Black Arts Movement" by Ishmael Reed Introduction: "Why the Black Arts Movement Matters Now" by Tru Leverette
PART 1: RootsChapter 1: "'[M]other of us poets': Margaret Walker and the Black Arts Movement" by Seretha D. Williams Chapter 2: "Myths, Stereotypes, Sexual Politics, and the Black Power Movement in Alice Childress's Wine in the Wilderness" by Ama S. WattleyChapter 3: "Sonia Sanchez: A Dynamic Voice of Black Arts Poetry" by John Zheng Chapter 4: "Against the Grain: Alice Childress and the Black Arts Movement" by Elizabeth Smith
PART 2: Re-EnvisioningsChapter 5: "Humor in Hue: Gag Cartoons as Satire in Black World Magazine during the Black Arts Movement, 1970-1976" by Nathaniel Frederick II and William SchulteChapter 6: "Freeing Black: Myth, Language, and Revolution via Fran Ross's Oreo" by Tru LeveretteChapter 7: "Stepping to His Own Music: Influences and Plurality of Black Identities in William Melvin Kelley's Works" by Yannick BlecChapter 8: "Fighting the Wrongheaded Doppelgaenger: Ishmael Reed and the Media" by Samuel Ludwig Chapter 9: "Rage Against the Machine: Black Impotency and the Failures of Liberalism in Amiri Baraka's Dutchman and The Slave" by Kel Martin
PART 3: RevivalsChapter 10: "The Black Arts Movement: A Visual Arts Perspective" by Paul Von BlumChapter 11: "Updating the Legacy of Black Arts Movement and Staying Relevant: Reconnecting with Africa in Ishmael Reed's Japanese by Spring" by Jiri SalamounChapter 12: "BAM Legacies and the 'Inner Life' in the Contemporary Poetry of Rickey Laurentiis and Danez Smith: Discovering A 21st-Century Dialogic Sublime" by Leila KamaliChapter 13: "Being Alive. Being a Woman. Being Colored: The dilemma of being black and female at the intersection of visual and performance art during the Black Arts Movement" by Erin Kendrick
Conclusion: "Black Love, Black Beauty, Black Abundance, and the Ongoing Work of Becoming" by Tru Leverette
PART 1: RootsChapter 1: "'[M]other of us poets': Margaret Walker and the Black Arts Movement" by Seretha D. Williams Chapter 2: "Myths, Stereotypes, Sexual Politics, and the Black Power Movement in Alice Childress's Wine in the Wilderness" by Ama S. WattleyChapter 3: "Sonia Sanchez: A Dynamic Voice of Black Arts Poetry" by John Zheng Chapter 4: "Against the Grain: Alice Childress and the Black Arts Movement" by Elizabeth Smith
PART 2: Re-EnvisioningsChapter 5: "Humor in Hue: Gag Cartoons as Satire in Black World Magazine during the Black Arts Movement, 1970-1976" by Nathaniel Frederick II and William SchulteChapter 6: "Freeing Black: Myth, Language, and Revolution via Fran Ross's Oreo" by Tru LeveretteChapter 7: "Stepping to His Own Music: Influences and Plurality of Black Identities in William Melvin Kelley's Works" by Yannick BlecChapter 8: "Fighting the Wrongheaded Doppelgaenger: Ishmael Reed and the Media" by Samuel Ludwig Chapter 9: "Rage Against the Machine: Black Impotency and the Failures of Liberalism in Amiri Baraka's Dutchman and The Slave" by Kel Martin
PART 3: RevivalsChapter 10: "The Black Arts Movement: A Visual Arts Perspective" by Paul Von BlumChapter 11: "Updating the Legacy of Black Arts Movement and Staying Relevant: Reconnecting with Africa in Ishmael Reed's Japanese by Spring" by Jiri SalamounChapter 12: "BAM Legacies and the 'Inner Life' in the Contemporary Poetry of Rickey Laurentiis and Danez Smith: Discovering A 21st-Century Dialogic Sublime" by Leila KamaliChapter 13: "Being Alive. Being a Woman. Being Colored: The dilemma of being black and female at the intersection of visual and performance art during the Black Arts Movement" by Erin Kendrick
Conclusion: "Black Love, Black Beauty, Black Abundance, and the Ongoing Work of Becoming" by Tru Leverette