Amiri Baraka was an influential American author born in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. He wrote over 40 books of poetry, plays, essays, and music criticism. Baraka's early works dealt with themes of death, suicide, and self-hatred, but he later focused on racial and political issues. His most famous play, Dutchman, depicted the murder of a young black man by a white woman on the subway and addressed issues of racism and surviving in a white society. Baraka was a revolutionary political activist who advocated for social justice and addressed controversial topics through his influential writings.

1. Amiri Baraka By Travis Thompson

2. Intro Hello, and thank you for tuning into CBS news 60 minutes. Todays show is deidicated to special American Authors. I am your host Travis Thompson. Today we wanted to take a few moments in dedication to famous American Author Amiri Baraka. Amiri Baraka, born in October 7, 1934, in Newark, New Jersey. However, Amiri Baraka is not his original name. He was originally named LeRoi Jones, but later assumed the Muslim name Amirir Baraka which means Prince, a Blessed One. Amiri is the author of over 40 books of essays, poems, drama, and music history and criticism, a poetic icon and revolutionary political activist who has recited poetry and lectured on cultural and political issues extensively in the USA, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. His father, Coyt worked as a postal supervisor and lift operator. His mother, Anna Lois was a social worker. He attended Rutgers University for two years, then transferred to Howard University, where in 1954 he earned his B.A. in English. He served in the Air Force from 1954 until 1957 when he was dismissed for unapproved political activity, then moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. There he joined a loose circle of Greenwich Village artists, musicians, and writers. And with that said, we need to take our first commercial break. When we return from commercial we will take a look at the time period in which Baraka was writing in.

3. Time Period Hello, and thank you for coming back with us. We felt that to fully understand the work that Baraka was producing it would be key for our audience to understand what was going on during this time period. The real story begins when he Married a white Jewish woman named Hettie Cohen In 1965, following the assassination of Malcolm X, Jones repudiated his former life and ended his marriage. He moved to Harlem, where he founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre. The company, which produced plays that were often anti-white and intended for a black audience, dissolved in a few months. He moved back to Newark, and in 1967 he married African-American poet Sylvia Robinson (now known as Amina Baraka). That year he also founded the Spirit House Players, which produced, among other works, two of Baraka's plays against police brutality: Police and Arm Yrself or Harm Yrself. Baraka's works became in the 1960s progressively more radical and involved with issues of racial and national identity. "We must eliminate the white man before we can draw a free breath on this planet," he once stated. In his early poems Baraka dealt with such subjects as death, suicide and self-hatred, but his view took a new turn and he focused on the separation of the races and political activism. It has been said that Amiri Baraka is committed to social justice like no other American writer. He has taught at Yale, Columbia, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Please let us take a brief break for a word from our sponsors. Be sure to come back to hear more of this exciting story!

4. Dutchman We must take a break from our scheduled programming to bring you an emergency news story! It appears that an African American male has been murdered by a white female on the local subway. Witnesses that were onboard the subway say that the woman was seductively talking to the young man since she first got onto the subway. Police are not sure at this time the exact name of the victim, but they do know that his first name is Clay. Witnesses who saw the woman also say that she goes by Lula and is around thirty years old. It is said that after trying to get Clay to take her to a party, Lula and Clay got into an argument after she tried to embarrass him by getting him to dance in the subway car. After their argument escalated, Lula knocked Clay’s books onto the ground. As he bent over to pick them up she took a small knife out and stabbed him in the chest. It is thought that this killer may be targeting young black men just like Clay. It is very possible that there could be more than one victim when it is all said and done. With that said, we will go back to the studio to resume our normal broadcast. Wow, that is a horrifying story. That reminds me exactly of the famous Amiri Baraka play Dutchman. In the Dutchman, Clay represents an accommodationist, who tries to live and survive in a white controlled society, and he chooses not to murder his tormentor, only to be stabbed to death by her. At the play's end Lula makes an eye contact with another unsuspecting young black man. "The Dutchman was also, in part, responsible for the growth of a genre of black literature known as the Black Arts movement. Please come back after our final break!

5. Trivia Thank you very much for returning to our show. This is the portion where we give you a few facts that you may not have previously known. Baraka's writings have generated controversy over the years, particularly his advocacy of rape and violence towards (at various times) women, gay people, white people, and Jews. AmiriBaraka wrote a poem titled "Somebody Blew Up America" about the September 11, 2001 attacks.The poem was controversial and highly critical of racism in America, where he also says that George W Bush is to blame. Baraka has received honors from a number of prestigious foundations, including: fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Langston Hughes Award from the City College of New York, The Rockefeller Foundation Award for Drama, an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Before Columbus Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.