Black Arts? What's That?
The Black Arts Movement or Black Aesthetic is the artistic branch of the Black Power Movement of the early 1960s-70s. It is sometimes seen as the most controversial ethnic movement of artistic expression of modern times. The movement rose up from the Civil Rights movement ans preached black autonomy and separatism. It ultimately changed America and the world's view on how literature and arts can be expressed as well as the view of African Americans in intellectual circles. After the death of Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) ,LeRoi Jones (Amiri Bakara) moved from the lower east side of Manhattan to Harlem to start the Black Arts Repertory Theatre in 1965. This movement gave life to a new branch of POC (People of Colour) expression, paving the way for many other races who were largely unrepresented in artistic expression.