"A main tenet of Black Power is the necessity for Black people to define the world in their own terms" (Neal, Larry p.446).
Larry Neal's manifesto calls for all artists, writers, poets, and the like, to produce pieces that highlight an African culture. He refers to all African Americans as a 'community' and calls for everyone in that 'community' to stick together and inspire each other rather than appeal to a white audience. He viewed Western culture as being a primarily white culture with white role models at the forefront of the American community. Neal wants this to change.
Good summary - what do you make of this? Do you agree that art should be rooted in a specific community or culture or do you think it should try to be more universal?
ReplyDeleteOn your topics - Of your two options, I think "the story of stuff" would be easier to find materials about - the American Writer's Congress Manifesto is more of a secondary source, so if you're interested in that topic you'd want to try to find a poem or creative work related to the issues and use the manifesto as a secondary source.
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