The Black Art Movement

The black art movement emerged during the 60s and 70s of the last century and is a lasting legacy of
American culture. This movement only emphasized that there is no American literature, but
American literature. They have their roots in the oldest civilizations - African, Asian, Mexican,
indigenous, and the literature of European settlers. What this movement deals with is the work of
black writers in poetry, drama, fiction, autobiography, and theoretical essays.

The deaths of Malcolm K and Martin Luther King helped start this movement. Faced with racial
discrimination and the struggle for basic rights, black students and citizens stood behind Amiri Barak
- who founded The Black Arts Repertory Theater in Harlem, which became a hub for presenting
poetry, drama, painting, and music events. Barak became the "father" of the movement, which
quickly spread to all major American cities. This time he left his legacy in the book "Black Fire",
considered the Bible of this movement.

Women writers, who created during this period, contributed to the strengthening of the movement
itself and again raised the issue of the relationship between black and white America, the violation
of identity.

These female voiceprints, reflecting the times, follow two concepts for reimagining America - black
power and black art. These women writers entered every literary genre and created a language that
brought poetry to pubs, streets, libraries, prisons, parks, theatres, and churches. Here are more
famous stories told in the form of autobiography, but these writers have already introduced a new
discourse, they have reconstructed the established expectations of fiction. They broke the racist
concept of white and black America. The art of this movement can be interpreted as a revision of the
concept of identification and socio-economic and political existence. Women who made a great
contribution to this movement are: Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Carolyn Rodgers, June Jordan,
Alice Walker, Sherley Anne Williams, Sarah Webster Fabio, Audre Lorde, Gwendolyn Brooks,
Margaret Walker, Maya Angelou, Mari Evans, Margaret Danner, Margaret Burroughs, Pinkie Gordon
Lane, Naomi Long Madgett, Zora Neale Hurston.

Poetry and plays were the strongest weapons of this movement. They fulfilled their goal, which is
the awakening of consciousness about something called "self". , and from that create the identity of
a nation. This poetry dealt with the same ideas and thus raised a series of questions about power
relations not only within the community but also between men and women. Poetry was also very
popular because it could be performed during gatherings and events, and its rhythm influenced
many rappers. Free events were organized in theaters, where writers could present their ideas to
the audience. They avoided the Broadway cliché but rather strove to convey the full meaning and
importance of artistry. Another genre developed from this movement is gospel music and singing.
This new art included dance, word magic, and singing. All the features of Western theater were
rejected, and they wanted to create a new, revolutionary theater. Drums, dance, and masks as
identifying features of African performance were an integral part of these choreographies.

This movement and the writers who created it during it give us a glimpse of its cultural wealth,
worldview, its unique way of communication and language, showing the power of women, but at the
same time criticizing the community and the American imposition of identity, which does not allow a
different way existence.