The Black Arts MovementThe Black Arts Movement refers to a period of "furious flowering" of African American creativity beginning in the mid-1960s and continuing for much of from the 1970s (Perceptions of the Black). Linked both chronologically and ideologically to the Black Power Movement, the BAM recognized the idea of ​​two cultural Americas: one black and one white. The BAM pushed for the creation of a distinctive black aesthetic in which black artists created for black audiences. The movement saw artistic production as the key to revising black Americans' perceptions of themselves, which is why black aesthetics were seen as an integral component of the community's economic, political, and cultural empowerment black. The concepts of Black Power, Nationalism, Community, and Performance all influenced the formation of this national movement, and it proliferated through community institutions, theater performances, literature, and music. The symbolic birth of the Black Arts Movement is generally dated to 1965 and coincides with a major transformation in the life of its most prominent leader, Amiri Baraka, formerly LeRoi Jones. Early in his career, LeRoi Jones gained notoriety and critical acclaim for his plays, particularly The Dutchmen, while living in Greenwich Village, the heart of the Beat Scene. However, starting in 1964, he underwent a personal transformation that led him to distance himself from white culture. LeRoi Jones divorced his white wife, moved to Harlem, changed his name, and adopted a black nationalist outlook. Shortly after the assassination of Malcolm Part 1. » The Black Collegian Online. November 28, 2004. http://www.black-collegian.com/african/bam1_200shtmlKalamu ya Salaam. “Historical Background of the Black Arts Movement (BAM) – Part 2” The Black Collegian Online. November 28, 2004. http://www.black-collegian.com/African/bam2_200shtmlModern American Poetry. Ed. Cary Nelson. November 29, 2004. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/index.htmlNeal, Larry. “The Black Arts Movement.” Black aesthetics. Ed. Addison Gayle, Jr. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971. 272 ​​- 290. Perception of Blackness: African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement. University of Virginia. November 28, 2004. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG01/hughes/blackart/htmlSmith, David Lionel. “The Black Arts Movement and Its Critics.” American literary history. 3.1 (Spring 1991): 94-109.