Quick Facts
- NAME: Imamu Amiri Baraka
- OCCUPATION: Scholar, Critic, Academic Author, Author, Playwright, Poet
- BIRTH DATE: October 07, 1934 (Age: 78)
- EDUCATION: Howard University, Rutgers University, Columbia University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Newark, New Jersey
- Originally: Everett LeRoi Jones
- ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
Best Known For
Imamu Amiri Baraka is an African-American poet and scholar. He has served as professor emeritus of Africana Studies at the State Unversity of New York at Stony Brook.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowImamu Amiri Baraka. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:54, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235.
Imamu Amiri Baraka. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235 [Accessed 23 May 2013].
"Imamu Amiri Baraka." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 12:54 http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235.
"Imamu Amiri Baraka," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235 [accessed May 23, 2013].
"Imamu Amiri Baraka," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235 (accessed May 23, 2013).
Imamu Amiri Baraka [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235.
Imamu Amiri Baraka, http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235 (last visited May 23, 2013).
Imamu Amiri Baraka. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/imamu-amiri-baraka-9198235. Accessed May 23, 2013.
Profile
Imamu Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones) was born on October 7, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Rutgers and then Howard Universities and became a sergeant in the United States Air Force. After his writings led to a dishonorable discharge, Jones moved to Greenwich Village. He became involved in the Black Nationalist poetry and literature scenes and took the name Amiri Baraka after the assassination of Malcolm X. He has taught at several American universities.
© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Famous Black Writers
View groupThey are the famous African-American writers who have fearlessly examined cultural stigmas, provided intimate life details, presented new ideas and created remarkable fiction through literary works. For their prophetic genius, these men and women have received Pulitzer Prizes, NAACP awards and even Nobel Prizes, among other honors. Our list of prominent African-American authors includes Toni Morrison, who has detailed the lives of black characters who struggle with identity amidst racism and hostility; Langston Hughes, a founder of the Harlem Renaissance; and Maya Angelou, who has eloquently chronicled various eras of her life through her autobiographies.
Famous Black Writers 38 people in this group
-
Famous Harlem Residents
View groupAfter the Civil War, many of the country's best and brightest black advocates, artists, entrepreneurs and intellectuals moved to the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Thanks largely to the efforts of these residents, Harlem became both the cradle of a cultural revolution and the heart of the civil rights movement. Meet some of the many people who gave—and continue to give—this neighborhood a voice, simply by calling it home.
Famous Harlem Residents 62 people in this group
-
Famous Military Veterans
View groupAmerica wouldn't be what it is today without Hollywood, and it certainly wouldn't be the same without its armed forces. Military veterans make the ultimate contribution to society—they put their lives on the line for their country. Since the nation's founding, the dedication and bravery of soldiers has been the a key pillar on which the United States stands. From Revolutionary War heroes to Vietnam veterans, here's a look at famous military veterans.
Famous Military Veterans 211 people in this group
profile name: Imamu Amiri Baraka profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

June Carter Cash
Musical Monikers
Justin Bieber
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived


