Abstract

This article represents a study of one of the most distinctive, yet neglected, utopian visions of the late 1960s and early 1970s in America. It examines the Black Nationalist struggle of that decade as an expression of utopia with special reference to one of its leaders, Amiri Baraka. The article shows how Baraka’s Black Nationalist works express a prophecy of creating a new reality for Blacks in America. Baraka’s ideal society, his utopia, it is shown, is reached by “breaking the continuity of history,” that is, by a total separation from what he views as the “rotten and hellish” white American society. Black Americans should create, instead, an alternative Black society through what Ashcroft calls “the myth of return,” reimaging the Black man’s glorious pre-slavery African past, that is, going back to his origins—the home of his ancestors (Africa). The article argues the reconstruction of a number of Eastern/African elements (ancient Africa, its traditions, culture, heritage, and language) that Baraka describes as “keys to a new black world.” The article concludes with a discussion of the reasons behind the collapse of Baraka’s Black Nationalist utopian project in 1974. As Baraka started to move toward the left due to the influence of Mao, Nkrumah, and Cabral in the mid-1970s, he realized the clash between his utopian ideals (equality, freedom, justice, self-determination...etc.) and the unidealistic foundation of his utopia. This new Barakan Socialist utopian vision remains untouched and is thus recommended for a profound examination in the future.