106 Quotes by Amiri Baraka

If you are black, the only roads into the mainland of American life are through subservience, cowardice, and loss of manhood. These are the white man’s roads.

The artist’s role is to raise the consciousness of the people.

You can’t be an American without being related to other Americans.

When I was saying, 'White people go to hell,' I never had trouble finding a publisher. But when I say, 'Black and white unite and fight, destroy capitalism,' then you suddenly become unreasonable.

The black artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it.

Spike Lee is part of a retrograde movement in this country.

The poet is someone, I think, who's interested in registering experience immediately or giving you the sense of immediacy and directness.

You have to get an individual who's willing to actually struggle with the system to change it. As long as you have people who - to make substantive changes, to make infrastructure changes.

I was Everett LeRoi Jones. My grandfather's name was Everett.