Biography on amiri baraka

(1934-2014)

Who Was Amiri Baraka?

After three years in the U.S. Air Force, Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones) joined the Beat movement in Greenwich Village.

After the assassination of Malcolm X, he took the name Amiri Baraka and became involved in the Black Nationalist poetry and literature scenes. He later identified himself as a Marxist.

Early Life

Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones on October 7, 1934, in Newark, New Jersey.

Biography on amiri baraka

After developing an interest in poetry and jazz in high school, Baraka attended Howard University, where he changed his name to LeRoi James. He earned his degree in English in 1954, and then joined the United States Air Force. After three years of service, Baraka received a dishonorable discharge for owning inappropriate texts.

Baraka then moved to Manhattan, where, in addition to attending Columbia University and The New School, he became a prominent artist in the Greenwich Village scene and befriended Beat poets such as Allen G