It has occurred to me that y'all might not know who Mayor Ras Baraka is. So I'm going to take a moment out of grading to do my duty as a Jersey girl and teach you a thing. Mayor Baraka is the 40th mayor of the Newark, NJ, the city that will forever be Jersey's heartbeat. - ThreadSky

fluentisona.bsky.social • 16 hours ago

It has occurred to me that y'all might not know who Mayor Ras Baraka is. So I'm going to take a moment out of grading to do my duty as a Jersey girl and teach you a thing. Mayor Baraka is the 40th mayor of the Newark, NJ, the city that will forever be Jersey's heartbeat.

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phyllishistorian.bsky.social•7 hours ago

A former mayor of Newark NJ that you may be familiar with, is Cory Booker. Further back, George Washington and Thomas Paine spent time there during their struggle against tyranny. Newark has a history.

vallahha.bsky.social•2 hours ago

Now I can die contented.

lmc55g95.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Thank you for this #education, this #history 💙

botticellibelle.bsky.social•15 hours ago

OMG I took an entire writing class on Amiri Baraka in my grad program! He's a LEGEND.

ICE fucked with the wrong person, this time! Lol.

tedit.bsky.social•4 hours ago

they take the wrong person every time.... but I do see your point. This one will make waves and get attention and shed light on these horrendous acts of violence and injustice. Hopefully open more peoples eyes as to what is going on.

kallastra.bsky.social•5 hours ago

I had the amazing opportunity of hearing Amira Baraka read at a poetry festival while I was in grad schooI. That reading put me in a transcendent state, so powerful. Such a masterful artist and speaker!

fluentisona.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I'm so jealous. I took a whole course on CS Lewis and I promise your class was 100x better.

botticellibelle.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I guaruntee it was! I can't pretend otherwise 😅

Seriously, one of the best classes I took in all of college. It was taught by John Beer. He's good people.

h-spaess.bsky.social•8 hours ago

I like Amiri Baraka's poetry, but you're leaving out quite a bit, like his advocacy of rape as method of political struggle.

hebelkins.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Thank you for this! I will be digging into more of this incredible family.

dwgelbman.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I just got a fuckin fundraising text from him. FUCK THAT!

fluentisona.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I mean...he's running for governor? Political theater is good for fundraising, but he did this because he believes in this work. Both can be true (and honestly, he is one of the few politicians where both are true and it isn't just about the photo op).

kallastra.bsky.social•5 hours ago

agreed, and would also like to point out the ways political fundraising has become its own beast thru ActBlue and other orgs and idk if one can rely on these texts being completely in the candidates control

fluentisona.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Oh I promise the candidates have little control over the texts. I work in marketing for nonprofits and I'm sure Mayor Baraka did not write or approve that text personally. He has a team for that. A team who will do the work to turn this moment into a fundraising opportunity so he doesn't have to.

aknupsky.bsky.social•15 hours ago

@msoledadcaballero.bsky.social

erinsiska.bsky.social•13 hours ago

Thank you for this.

ronicats.bsky.social•1 hour ago

@stephruhle.bsky.social
Jersey Proud!

crystal4mvpharris.bsky.social•14 hours ago

@pierceah66.bsky.social

daveawl.bsky.social•15 hours ago

📌

fluentisona.bsky.social•16 hours ago

He is the son of two powerhouse poets, community organizers, activists, and change makers, Amina Baraka and Amiri Baraka, both members of the Black Arts Movement of the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Amiri Baraka is often considered the founder of the Black Arts Movement.

iamzeeeggman.bsky.social•15 hours ago

amiri baraka poem was included in my 12th grade english text in texas in 1985. bet he ain't included today.

fluentisona.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Ugh. You're probably right and that's so sad.

malaikarsimmons.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Thank you for this! 🙌🏾

joan-gaylord.bsky.social•13 hours ago

Amiri Baraka at Birdland around 2012 with Gary Bartz, Lee Konitz, and Ravi Coltrane receiving all the respect he deserved.

blklibrarygirl.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Yes, we’re all what I call Red, Black, and Green diaper babies—children of Black Power activists/Black Arts Movement writers.

There are a bunch of us out here, though most keep a much lower—honestly, safer—profile.

fluentisona.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Amiri opened Black Arts Repertory Theatre School in 1965 in Harlem. You can learn more about Amiri Baraka at https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/baraka-amiri-1934/

fluentisona.bsky.social•16 hours ago

You can read one of Amiri Baraka's poems at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52777/an-agony-as-now

fluentisona.bsky.social•16 hours ago

And possibly my favorite poem at https://youtu.be/KUEu-pG1HWw?si=V7EHTMcYSeJNwWxk

fluentisona.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Amina Baraka you can learn about at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/amina-baraka#tab-related

fluentisona.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Now Mayor Baraka was raised in Newark by these two revolutionary artists. He attended University High in Newark, he got a BA from Howard and an MEd from St. Peter's in Jersey City and he served as principal of Central High in Newark for six years. Mayor Baraka reps Brick City and he bleeds Jersey.

auntsophie.bsky.social•14 hours ago

omg I had no idea he was Amiri Baraka's son!! (Showing my age, he was one of the first Black poets I learned of and read when I was in college in the 70's.)

fluentisona.bsky.social•14 hours ago

I feel like now that he's made national news more people will know? But Newark (and most of Jersey) know Mayor Baraka comes from revolutionaries.

dw-farrell.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I know I'm just a random Canadian white dude but America really needs to realize that Black Americans are really the true patriots of the US. They fight for what America's potential could be.

chefsilvia.bsky.social•3 hours ago

💯

tracyharrison.bsky.social•2 hours ago

they always have the true patriots, and me an old lady white boomer finally figuring this out in what us likely my last years…

alicebirdy.bsky.social•12 hours ago

I'm just a random American white woman and I'm with you! Black Americans are the best of us!

spoonbread.bsky.social•14 hours ago

vtgenie.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Wow. SO grateful for this thread! LOVE learning about Mayor Baraka. We need a 3D, beating-heart view of humanity right now. Actually 4D, with essential history embedded. This brings both and 🔥 too.

janeroehopeful.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Thank you.

pissyrabbit.bsky.social•14 hours ago

My mom and dad both grew up in Newark. ❤️❤️

fluentisona.bsky.social•14 hours ago

So much connection between NWK & BK. Thanks for supporting Mayor Baraka today!

pissyrabbit.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Always!! Jersey strong 💪🏻

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