James Baldwin was a writer so incisive that he could not only cut through the thick layers of obfuscation and false optimism that clouded his own time, but his endlessly perceptive gaze could also pierce through time to the current day....
Observing as well as living the ongoing traumas of a Black male experience, and ultimately the birth of my own son, became a call to action. I dedicated myself to addressing the concerns, hopes, traumas and triumphs of Black masculinity. My hope was to make art that would inspire us all to be better, for the world to wholly "see" Black men and for Black men to see themselves, whole....
In mostly white classrooms at many universities, Amiri Baraka’s poems are assigned in brief, dramatic portions. This, at least, was my experience. A student mig...
