Poet. Dramatist. Essayist. Social Critic.

1934: Born Everett LeRoy Jones in Newark, NJ. 1951: Graduates with honors from Barringer High School attends Rutgers University. 1952: Transfers to Howard University. 1954: Flunks out of Howard then serves three years in the Air Force. 1957: Settles in NYCs Greenwich Village and meets fellow writers Allen Ginsberg, Frank OHara & Charles Olson. 1958: Marries Hettie Cohen. 1961: Publishes Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note under the name LeRoi Jones.

Premiered in 1964 in Greenwich Villages Cherry Lane Theatre. Wins an Obie Award for best Off-Broadway Play in New York. Encapsulates a time of transition as LeRoi Jones is in the process of divorcing Hettie Jones and beginning to embrace the ideals of Black Nationalism.

1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in New York. 1966: Marries Sylvia Robinson, now known as Amina Baraka and publishes Home: Social Essays. 1967: Takes the name Imamu Ameer Baraka later shortened to Amiri Baraka (Blessed Prince). Beaten by police then arrested for unlawful possession of a weapon and resisting arrest during the Newark NJ uprising. Convicted on a misdemeanor and sentenced to three years of jail. Conviction overturned on appeal.

(All thinking people oppose terrorism both domestic & international But one should not be used To cover the other)

Poet. Provocateur. Dramatist. Realist. Essayist. Vatic. Social Critic. Untamed.