Baraka was very influential in the development of the Black Arts Movement, especially in drama, through his founding of the Black Arts Repertory Theater and his many dramatic works. Learn more about recent developments in the area of African-American dramatic production. Who are the important African-American playwrights today, and what are their most important plays? What are the titles of some of the important works by these writers? What theaters throughout the U.S. are devoted to producing works by African-American writers? To what extent are the principles of the Black Arts Movement still practiced today? What developments have occurred in the literary aesthetics and political orientation of African-American dramatists?

Baraka's play Slave Ship is unique and innovative in part due to its unusual stage directions and characterization. Perform a scene from the play with a group of students. What kinds of choices do you make in your interpretation of the stage directions? In what ways does performing a scene illuminate the meaning and impact of the play?

During the 1950s, Baraka was associated with the writers of the Beat Movement, a primarily white, bohemian, literary orientation most commonly associated with the poet Allen Ginsberg (especially for his poem Howl) and the novelist Jack Kerouac (especially for his novel On the Road). Learn more about the Beat Movement, the writers associated with it, and the works they produced. What aesthetic principles did they put forth? What were the social or political implications of the literary aesthetics of the Beat Movement?

During an important phase of his literary and political career, Baraka was dedicated to the political philosophy of black nationalism and the religion of Islam. Learn more about black nationalism, and its association with Islam. What is the history of black nationalism? What are some of the fundamental political values held by black nationalists? Who are some of the important figures in the black nationalist movement? What is your own opinion of black nationalism as a political philosophy and movement?

The third phase of Baraka's literary and political career was characterized by his orientation to a Marxist-Socialist political philosophy. Learn more about Karl Marx and Marxist political theory. What are the fundamental social and political values put forth by Marxism? What is your own opinion of Marxism as a political philosophy?