Bringing together political theory and literary works, this study recreates the political climate which made the 1960s an unforgettable era for young black Americans. A chapter on "The Many Shades of Black Nationalism," for instance, explains: why black nationalism is known by more than a dozen different names; how events in Africa influenced black nationalism in America; why Malcolm X's death had a greater impact on nationalism than did his life; and how the United States government unwittingly became nationalism's ally. Another chapter explores the bitter feud between the dominant factions of the 1960s-cultural and revolutionary nationalists. This feud erupted in both verbal and armed warfare and generated an abundance of political theory and literary works, much of which is out of circulation but is examined in the study. Nationalist poetry, theater, and fiction are each treated in separate chapters which exemplify the aesthetic and political concerns of this memorable period in American history and letters. Aside from its unique combination of artistic and political works, what makes this book important is the current revival of nationalist sentiment in African American life and arts. Though this revival is closely identified with the nationalism of the 1960s, it lacks the focus of that period. This study explains what gave the nationalism of the 1960s its focus, how that focus was expressed in art forms, and why 1960s nationalism continues to influence the African American identity and will probably do so well into the twenty-first century.
Author(s): Sandra Hollin Flowers
Series: Studies in American Popular History and Culture
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 214
City: London
Cover
Original Title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Visions of Nationalism
Nationalism: From the Inside out or from the Outside In
Nationalism and Tradition
Focus and Approach of the Current Study
Selection of Works
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
1 THE MANY SHADES OF BLACK NATIONALISM
Confronting Ambiguity
The Central Ambiguity: Where Is "Home"?
Profusion and Confusion: The Problem of Categorization
Ideology and the Political Climate
Concentration of African Americans in Urban Areas
The Presence of a Politicized Arts Community
Inadvertent Government Complicity
Nationalism and the Black Church
Posthumous Interpretations of Malcolm X
Out of One, Many
2 CULTURAL AND REVOLUTIONARY NATIONALISM: THE DOMINANT VARIANTS
Ideology Held in Common
The Afro-centric Nature of the Ideology
The Mythic Foundation, Standard Themes, and the New Self-image
Methods of Achieving an Envisioned Outcome
The Personification of the Philosophy
The Insistent Nature of the Rhetoric
Cultural Nationalism
Ideals of Cultural Nationalism
Agencies of Cultural Nationalism
Social Theories of Cultural Nationalism
Revolutionaiy Nationalism
Ideals of Revolutionary Nationalism
Agencies of Revolutionary Nationalism
Social Theories of Revolutionary Nationalism
An Attempt at Reconciliation
3 CREATIVITY AND POLITICS
The Conjunction of Individual and Group Vision
Literary Expression and Political Philosophy
Artistic Technique
4 NATIONALIST POETRY
Redefining Blackness and Rejecting White Judgments of Worth
Capitalism and the Black Middle Class
Police and the Black Community
Hypocrisy and the American Ideal
Integrity of the Nationalist Movement
Importance of Sanchez as Nationalist Poet
5 NATIONALIST THEATER
Ways of Describing Black Theater
Distinctions Between Nationalist and Mainstream Black Theater
The Quest for Artistic Control
The Evolution of Form
Control of Material Resources
Origins and Major Influences
Amiri Baraka
Ed Bullins
Illustrative Works and Themes
Madheart (A Morality Play)
Junkies are Full of Shhh
We Own the Night
We Righteous Bombers
Black Terror
Death List
The Passing of an Era
6 NATIONALIST FICTION
The Bluest Eye
The Spook Who Sat by the Door
"A Revolutionary Tale"
Fiction's Place in Nationalism
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
INDEX
