(born Oct. 7, 1934, Newark, N.J., U.S.) U.S. playwright, poet, and activist. After graduating from Howard University and serving in the U.S.
Air Force, he joined the Beat movement and in 1961 published his first major poetry collection. His play Dutchman (1964), produced off-Broadway, explored the suppressed hostility of U.S. blacks toward the dominant white culture. After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Baraka became involved in black nationalism and founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre in Harlem. In 1974 he adopted a Marxist-Leninist philosophy. He was appointed Poet Laureate of New Jersey in 2002.
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