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Amiri Baraka Quotes


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Quotes by Amiri Baraka

Showing 1-10 of 42 Quotes by Amiri Baraka

The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely. That's how I see it. Otherwise, I don't know why you do it.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Artist Consciousness How Know Life Make More Otherwise People Raise Role See Them Themselves Understand Why World You I See

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When I was saying, 'White people go to hell,' I never had trouble finding a publisher. But when I say, 'Black and white unite and fight, destroy capitalism,' then you suddenly become unreasonable.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Become Black Black And White Capitalism Destroy Fight Finding Go Go To Hell Had Hell Never People Publisher Say Saying Suddenly Then Trouble Unite Unreasonable White You

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The man who buried Malcolm X - my Muslim imam, priest - he, after I got beat up by police... came to me, and he said, 'You don't need this American name.' And I was susceptible to it at the time because, God knows, I had just gotten whipped near to death. So he gave me an Arab name; he gave me the name Amir Barakat.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: After American Arab Beat Because Buried Came Death Gave God Got Gotten Had He Just Knows Malcolm Malcolm X Man Me Muslim Name Near Need Police Priest Said Susceptible Time Up Whipped Who You

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You have to start with slavery because those abuses have never been eradicated. You know, people are not living in slums because they voted to. You know, their children are not in jail because they wanted them to. You know, these are the results of a people who have been oppressed and suffer national oppression, you know.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Abuse Because Been Children Eradicated Jail Know Living National Never Oppressed Oppression People Results Slavery Slums Start Suffer Them Those Voted Wanted Who You

Keywords: None


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This is said to us, even as this counterfeit president has legalized the Confederate Flag in Mississippi.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Confederate Counterfeit Even Flag Mississippi President Said Us

Keywords: None


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I'm trying to make the poems as musical as I can - from the inception. So that whether they're read on the page, or people read them aloud, or I read them aloud, the musicality will be kind of a given.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Aloud Be Kind Given Inception Kind Make Musical Page People Poems Read Them Trying Whether Will I Can

Keywords: None


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A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Any Apprenticeship Cannot Either Free Freedom He Man

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The black artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Aid America Artist Black Destruction He Knows Role

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I came to my Marxist view as a result of having struggled as a nationalist and found certain dead ends theoretically and ideologically, as far as nationalism was concerned, and had to reach out for a communist ideology.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: As Far As Came Certain Communist Concerned Dead Ends Far Found Had Having Ideology Marxist Nationalism Nationalist Out Reach Result Struggled Theoretically View I Came

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Thought is more important than art. To revere art and have no understanding of the process that forces it into existence, is finally not even to understand what art is.

~Amiri Baraka

Topics: Art Even Existence Finally Forces Important More Process Revere Than Thought Understand Understanding

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Poet

Born: October 7th, 1934

Died: January 9th, 2014

Links

Find Amiri Baraka on Amazon

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