BAM!: The BlAck Arts Movement as Language and PerformanceWe have to have cultural, literary, consciousness-raising, activist-oriented & performing arts--- & audiences for them!" (quoted by Eugene Redmond) Black culture and black survival are, after all, one and the same thing." ~Carolyn Gerald “Both inherently and overtly political in content, the Black Arts movement was the only American literary movement to advance ‘social engagement’ as a sine qua non of its aesthetic. The movement broke from the immediate past of protest and petition (civil rights) literature and dashed forward toward an alternative that initially seemed unthinkable and unobtainable: Black Power.” ~Kalamu ya Salaam artists of bam Choose your favorite artist from the section called “Key Figures in Bam” on the course website. Listen . . . watch. . . read . . . feel. See the syllabus for your writing assignment. There are suggestions at the bottom of this page on what to write.
|
Major Musical influences on BAM
Our Theories of Black ArtsThe Black Arts Movement (BAM) is often commonly known as the artistic sister of Black Power and that is the way we will approach it here. We will look at BAM in this part of the course as an incredibly generative moment in its ability to artistically articulate and embolden political action as well lay the foundation for what we today experience as spoken word poetry and Hip Hop. We will spend our time in this unit reading about BAM’s politics based on the 2014 book, SOS- Calling All Black People: A Black Arts Movement Reader, and immersing ourselves in BAM’s artistic world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our bam Poetry Collections
Instead of choosing one of the videos above, you can also choose any ONE video below from these playlists that focus on one artist.
The full playlist is at the right. A small sample is under the artist's name.
The full playlist is at the right. A small sample is under the artist's name.
|
Amiri Baraka
Below: "Why is We Americans" |
|
|
Sarah Webster Fabio
Below: "A Black Girl's Mean 'Ol Low Down Blues" |
|
|
Sonia Sanchez
A Sun Lady for All Seasons Reads Her Poetry |
|
Suggestions for Writing |
Why was this poem--- which was probably distributed via broadsides or album--- so impactful that people today archive it on youtube? Why do you think this artist connected to BAM? How would you describe this poet's lyrics, vibe, rhythm, style, politics? What are the purposes? Messages? Why deliver this way?
|
