Liberation Through the Spoken Word 1

Liberation Through the Spoken Word

Liberation Through the Spoken Word 2

The tradition of writing and performing poetry is rooted deeply in the culture of African, Black
American communities and many cultures around the world. It was used during the Greek empire by
Homer to pass down the stories of their gods. The ancient West African tradition of the griot reciting 4
hours long stories of royal lineage is one of the oldest examples of oral performance. It has aided this
community for ages even staying with the displaced people of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Poetry has
been used historically in the black communities of America as a form of protest and rebellion. Many
authors like Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Zora Neal Hurston, James Baldwin and Phyllis Wheatley
have detailed the discrimination and oppression of slavery, segregation and Jim Crow/black code laws.
The tradition continues with contemporary slam poets and the spoken words of artists using their work to
start a discourse on more contemporary forms of oppression like militarized police brutality, economic
disenfranchisement and gentrification. It is important to understand the connection between the varying se
iterations of black poetry. A major theme through out this genre is the idea that blackness represents
many different and varying narratives. In the article Contemporary Black? Performance Poetry Birgit
Bauridl writes Despite multiple references to the black past, contemporary black performance poetry by
no means constitutes a single black narrative the term black here represents a heterogeneous group
with similar diverse histories and context that is shaped by various crossings of national and cultural
border. (Bauridl, 2010, p. 8). Poets and writers exemplify these ideal by giving complicated, diverse and
at times contradictory narrative that show the dense tapestry of stories that define blackness.
Amiri Baraka was an extraordinarily influential poet, playwright, essayist, activist and political
organizer most known for his enormous contribution to the Black Arts Movement. He wrote many poems
and essays centered around black culture and life. Much of his work focuses on the effects of systematic
discrimination and oppression on the black community. Baraka worked with the Black Liberation
Movement to directly impact the forms of oppression that he wrote about. He also presents us with
diverse representation of black life. One his most famous and polarizing poems is Black Art.

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Throughout this poem he personifies and anthropomorphizes the blackness in many different situations
to emphasize the different forms of oppression experienced by the black community. One of the most
poignant lines from the poem details police brutality where Baraka says Poems that wrestle cops into
alleys and take their weapons leaving them dead with tongues pulled out and sent to Ireland(Baraka,
1969, p. 149). The line responds to the pandemic of militarized police that plague low-income minority
communities. The line is a frustrated response to the realities of harsh social conditions. The emotions of
the speaker boil as he details the murder of a police officer as an attack to militarized police. The poem
continues to even more varying views on what blackness is. Baraka goes from the image of the police
murder to wanting, poems for dope selling wops or slick halfwhites(Baraka, 1969, p. 149). The image
from this line is different from the last because it introduces drug dealers and racially ambiguous people.
However, this also serves as a continuation of the overarching narrative of the diversity of blackness. This
theme runs throughout the whole poem and much of his other work. Baraka (1969) ends the poem with a
call to action for black people. Let Black people understand that they are the lovers and the sons of
warriors and sons of warriors Are poems & poets & all the loveliness here in the world(Baraka, 1969,
p.150). In this quote Amiri Baraka is telling black people that they are strong and full of love. He
describes them as being all of the love in the world. Baraka goes on to ultimately tell black people to
speak. I interpret this as the speaker telling black people to be unapologetic about their blackness.
Listeners hear this same unapologetic frustration in the recording of the poem. Baraka performs the poem
in a dynamic and abrasive manner. The lines of onomatopoeia especially stand out because Barakas over
exaggerates and dramatizes them for emphasis. For example, when Baraka writes
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhe attempts sound like a humming plane engine (Baraka, 1969, p.150) . These are
all characteristics indicative of Barakas poetry and poetry from the Black Arts Movement of the time. He
uses metaphor and figurative language to visualize the life and of Black Americans. He also uses his
voice to emphasis and add meaning to his work. He also mirrors the ideas referenced by Bauridl. Barakas
poem reiterates this idea by bombarding us with a plethora of diverse representations of blackness.

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We can see these themes running through another one of his poems Why is we American?
Baraka performs an excerpt from this poem on an episode of Def Poetry. In this poem he questions why
minorities and indigenous communities identify as American after the years of slavery, genocide,
discrimination and so on. Throughout the poem he repeats the phrase Why is we American?(Baraka,,
2010). This phrase is interesting because it uses is and instead of are. Baraka does this to reference
the language of the black community. He is referencing the modified verb conjugation used in the black
community. The most famous example of this is the habitual be. He does this because this poem is
intended for people who fall in the black community and other oppressed communities. It makes it easier
for the listener to identify with Baraka if he speaks like them. The excerpt from the video starts with a list
of reparation that he is demanding which is followed with a list of atrocities committed by the American
Government. He says Plus we want damages from all the killing and fraud, the lynching, the missing
justice, the cover ups, the tar and feathering(Baraka. 2010). Here he bombards the audience with
example of the heinous acts that justify his frustration with America. While he was performing these lines
in the poem, members of the audience responded by snapping, clapping and yelling to let Baraka that they
resonated with his words. He ends the last part of the performance by saying And then we can talk about
being American (Baraka, 2010). This line is powerful because it literally separates Baraka from being
American. It was also a change in the tone of the poem. Instead of him just questioning his American
identity, he is declaring that he cannot be American until America rectifies the past. Again, Baraka uses
figurative language and exaggerated performance to pollinate his ideas on social justice.
As I stated previously, the techniques that Baraka implements are not unique to him or the Black
Arts Movement. These ideas run throughout the history of black culture. We can see them today in the
modern slam poetry and performance poetry movement. Slam poetry is specific form of performance
poetry where 10 to 12 poets or 3 to 5 teams of poets compete in multiple rounds until one poet or team
remains. This art form is known for its dynamic and energetic performances and poets that advocate
social justice. Bauridl describes slam poetry as, a poetry competition oftentimes staged at bars or cafes,
thrives on a highly rhythmic and ritualistic structure and the interplay between MC, performer and

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audience.(Bauridl, 2010, p.4) In many cases, poets use the slam competition as a platform to speak out
against a variety of forms of oppression with themed slams on specific topics. The slam poetry culture is
known for embracing the narrative of many different cultures. Many slam poets use the same strategies of
figurative language and metaphor perfected by Baraka.
Saul William is a prolific slam poet, singer-songwriter, rapper and activist who rose to fame in
the late 1990s. His poem (Coded Language) (Williams, 2007) is an example of how the tradition of
black poetry has a contemporary manifestation. He performs on the same stage as Amiri Baraka during a
different episode of the television show Def Poetry. This poem starts with Williams setting the scene. He
describes a place that constricts the people living in it. He also starts by politicizing the entire poem. He
says, where as... This is a direct reference to the language used in legal and political documents. The
tone of the poem seems like he is declaring independence from something that is oppressing him. In this
case language is the idea he wants to explain. He even says this a couple of line in. I declare reality
unkempt by the changing standards of dialogue. (Williams, 2007). Next, he goes on to describe what
blackness or Black American culture is not. He then goes through a list of name of poets, writers,
orators, activist and revolutionaries who attempt to speak out against oppression. Williams ends the poem
with a call to action. He say, every person as a being of sound has to acknowledge their responsibility to
uplift the entire fucking world! (Williams, 2007) In this line is he is encouraging every person in the
world to be like the people he listed and make the world a better place. In the performance Williams is
noticeably frustrated for most of the poem. He projects loudly and changes the levels of his voice to
emphasize important parts of the poem. This poem by Saul William is very similar to the Barakas Black
Arts poem. It starts by describing the scene. Then, the poet's attempt to redefine or separate with the
conventionally idea of blackness. Lastly, they both end with a call to action for the black community.
Both of these authors are speaking directly to the black community in attempt to educate or
enlighten. They are attempting to reflect on the past while connecting it to the future. Baraka uses images
of oppression and disenfranchisement makes this connection while Williams reciting the names of
influential people of the past. This idea of remembering the past is reflected in the article BLACK

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POETRY: A Necessary Ingredient of Survival and Liberation by Nancy Arnez where she states, It is
evident that European American have always used the curriculum of their schools to spread their politics
and culture. For the sake of group survival and liberation In this way we will also be able to preserve
our groupss culture, values, and customs by passing them down through the generations.(Arnez, 1980,
p.1)
Ed Mabrey is another slam poet who is very influential right now. He recently won the Individual
World Poetry Slam this year. Mabrey performed his poem, The Libretto of the Opera: Death of a Black
Boy (Mabrey, 2015) in that competition. In this poem he stages police brutality in the form of a Libretto
by giving the listener stage cues and actions. I thought this was interesting because he pulls in essentially
another form of spoken word or oral performance from a different culture. This adds to idea the oral
poetry and performance being a trend we see in many different cultures. The set pieces are different
characters and stage directions to show different narratives of blackness. For example, Mabrey say,
Directors note: the part of father has been cancelled replace father with empty note from woodwind
section woodwind section plays the song absence(Mabrey, 2015) In this section he compares an
absent father with a song. In the poem an unarmed black boy is shot and killed by a police officer.
Mabrey (2015) says, single street light center stage on black boy, sopranos sing and the blood came a
tumblin down (Mabrey 2015). He ends the Opera portion of the poem here with this image. Then, he
goes on to end the entire poem by critiquing society Mabrey (2015) say, Directors note: if we do this
right we can bring this back every week around country and they wont even notice, tell the producer that
weve got a hit on our hands(Mabrey, 2015). This set of lines is poignant because during the Civil Rights
Movement and Black Arts Movement organizers used television and media to show the racial atrocities of
the south. However, Mabrey suggests todays American society has become desensitized to the death of
black people, thus seeing them die on television does not command an immediate response like it did
previous years. This is similar to Barakas poem Why is we American? because questions society in the
face oppression and systemic discrimination. Both also give even more perspectives and nuances to the
idea of blackness presented by Bauridl.

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The tradition of writing and performing poetry especially in the black community has thrived
over the last century. It has also being used historically to promote social justice. The use of strong visual
imagery and dynamic performance are techniques that have been used for many years in the past. We find
them today in contemporary poetry used in a similar ways to give the audience a diverse array of
blackness. These poem also function as ways of educating and remember the history of a culture. .Black
American is poetry so visceral and dynamic because much of it is in response to social, political and
economic inequalities experienced over time. Much of it is in pursuit of liberation.

Works Cited
Arnez, N. L. (2016, October 24). Black poetry: a necessary ingredient for survival and liberation. Sage
publication. Retrieved October/November, 2016, from Libraries worldwide.
Baraka, A. (2014). SOS poems 1961-2013. New York, NY: Grove Press.
Bauridl, B. M. (2010, February 4). Contemporary "black?" performance poetry. sage publication.
Retrieved October/November, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41158724
Brooks, D. (2006). Bodies in dissent:sSpectacular performance of race and freedom,1850-1910.
Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Carpenter, F. (2014). Coloring whiteness: acts of critique in black performance. Ann arbor, MI: The
University of michigan press.
Def Poetry Jam - Amiri Baraka - Why is we american? [Video file]. (2010, August 26). In YouTube.com.
Retrieved October/November, 2016, from https://youtu.be/7ziRjhAgTO8
Def Poetry Jam - Saul Williams - (Coded language) [Video file]. (2007, April 7). In YouTube.com.
Retrieved October/November, 2016, from https://youtu.be/jzY2-GRDiPM

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Ed Mabrey - Libretto of the opera death of a black boy @WANPOETRY (Southern Fried 2015) [Video
file]. (2015, August 28). In YouTube.com. Retrieved October/November, 2016, from
https://youtu.be/UMxopjaPBsA