Episode 35: “Black Is Beautiful!”: The Black Aesthetic and The Black Arts Movement, 1965-1975

Ep 35: “Black Is Beautiful!”: The Black Aesthetic and The Black Arts Movement, 1965-1975


Episode Date: May 21, 2026

“The Black Arts Movement is radically opposed to any concept of the artist that alienates them from their community. This movement is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept. As such, it envisions an art that speaks directly to the needs and aspirations of Black America. In order to perform this task, the Black Arts Movement proposes a radical reordering of the Western cultural aesthetic. It proposes a separate symbolism, mythology, critique, and iconology.”
— Larry Neal, "The Black Arts Movement," 1968

Black is beautiful is not a slogan alone, but a summons, a call to consciousness, a chorus of reclamation rising from a people long told to doubt their own reflection. In this episode, Dr. Reiland Rabaka explores the Black Arts Movement, 1965 to 1975, a decade when art was insurgent and imagination was organized, when poetry marched and music mobilized, when theater testified and painting proclaimed. This was a time when culture did not trail politics. Culture led politics, setting the terms, shaping the language, sounding the future.

The story of the Black Arts Movement does not begin in 1965. It begins earlier in the Harlem Renaissance, where Black artists first insisted that Black life was worthy of its own forms, languages, and light. By the 1960s, into the breach left by persistent inequality stepped the Black Power Movement, a call for self-determination, community control, and cultural pride. Alongside it rose the Black Arts Movement, the aesthetic arm of the Black Power Movement. If the Harlem Renaissance asked, "Who are we in modern America?" the Black Arts Movement answered, "We are what we make, and we will make it Black, bold, and beautiful."

Dr. Rabaka examines the Black Aesthetic as a constellation of commitments that insisted Black art must emerge from Black experience, speak to Black communities, and serve Black liberation. It rejected the demand to conform to Eurocentric standards of beauty and embraced art for the people's necessity. The Black Aesthetic said: our rhythms are valid, our language is literature, our bodies are sites of knowledge, our communities are audiences and authors alike. It was both critique of a world that devalues Black life and creation of forms that revalue it.

Between 1965 and 1975, the Black Arts Movement transformed neighborhoods into networks of creativity. Workshops, theaters, journals, and collectives emerged across New York, Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, Los Angeles, Houston, and Atlanta. At the center stood Amiri Baraka, whose work helped catalyze a movement that was as organizational as it was artistic. Alongside him were Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Haki Madhubuti, and June Jordan, each shaping a literature that was urgent, accessible, and unapologetically Black. This was poetry that spoke in the cadence of the street and the sanctuary, theater that took the stage into community spaces, and publishing that bypassed gatekeepers and built independent institutions.

The phrase "Black is beautiful" moved from chant to credo, from poster to practice. In a society saturated with images that demeaned Blackness, this slogan asserted truth. It reclaimed skin, hair, style, soul, and speech, reclaiming the body as a canvas of dignity. The Black Aesthetic animated this slogan, giving it texture and theory. Beauty was no longer measured by whiteness. It was rooted in Blackness itself.

Music carried the message through free jazz that broke form to find freedom. Artists like John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Sun Ra pushed music beyond convention into cosmic terrains where Blackness was boundless. Soul and funk carried the message to the masses. James Brown declared it plainly: "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud," turning a slogan into a groove, a groove into a movement.

Dr. Rabaka reveals how the Black Arts Movement laid crucial groundwork for what would become rap music and hip hop culture. The emphasis on spoken word, rhythmic language, community-based performance, and independent production anticipated elements of rap. When hip hop emerged in the Bronx in the 1970s, it inherited not only the sonic innovations of funk and soul but the cultural ethos of the Black Arts Movement: to speak truth, to speak loud, to speak for the people. Rap, in this sense, is a descendant of Black Arts Movement poetry.

The episode asks what "Black is beautiful" means now, demonstrating that the Black Aesthetic remains a living principle visible in contemporary art, audible in modern music, and palpable in movements that link identity to justice. Democracy is not only about laws and policies. It is about culture, about who is seen as human, who is heard as worthy.

The episode features an original poem, "We Know Another Beauty," inspired by Black Arts Movement poets including Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Haki Madhubuti, Gil Scott-Heron, Larry Neal, Askia Touré, Jayne Cortez, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Lucille Clifton, and Gwendolyn Brooks. A specially curated "Black Is Beautiful" playlist accompanies this episode, featuring the revolutionary sounds of the Black Arts Movement era.

Learn More and Explore

  • , Brooklyn Museum Collection
  • , U.S. National Archives
  • , BlackPast.org
  • , Wikipedia

News and Articles

  • , Mar. 26, 2026, New York Amsterdam News
  • , Mar. 11, 2026, KQED, San Francisco Bay Area
  • (w/Video), Feb. 16, 2026, WISHTV.COM

The Playlist

“Black Is Beautiful!”: The Sound of the Black Aesthetic and the Black Arts Movement (1965–1975 and Beyond)


Playlist & Playlist Notes by Dr. Reiland Rabaka
This playlist is not simply a collection of songs, it is a constellation of sound, a chorus of consciousness, a curriculum in rhythm. It gathers the musical languages that moved alongside the Black Arts Movement and the Black Power Movement. Free jazz that fractured form to find freedom, soul that sanctified the everyday, funk that turned the groove into a gathering place for collective self-definition.
Music, in this moment, was not background, it was blueprint. It taught communities how to feel together, how to move together, how to imagine together. It was protest and prayer, manifesto and meditation. In the ecstatic improvisations of avant-garde jazz, we hear artists refusing constraint, stretching sound beyond the limits imposed on Black life. In soul and funk, we hear affirmation, rhythms that insist on joy as resistance, on embodiment as empowerment, on Blackness as beauty.
This sonic tradition did not end in 1975. It traveled through salsa, reggae, rap, neo-soul, neo-funk, carrying forward the insistence that art must speak to the people and for the people. These songs remind us that democracy is not only debated in legislatures; it is rehearsed on bandstands, in studios, on streets where basslines become bridges and melodies become movements.
To listen is to remember: freedom has a sound—and it is always becoming.
“Black Sound Is Beautiful!”

Playlist

  • Rocket Number Nine, Sun Ra (1960)
    Cosmic Blackness as liberation. Imagining futures beyond oppression through sound and myth.
  • Free Jazz, Ornette Coleman (1961)
    A radical reimagining of musical form, embodying the Black Aesthetic’s insistence on autonomy and innovation.
  • Alabama, John Coltrane (1963)
    A solemn response to racial violence, this piece transforms grief into spiritual resistance, foreshadowing the political urgency of the Black Arts era.
  • Ascension, John Coltrane (1965)
    Collective improvisation as liberation, sound breaking structure, mirroring the movement’s rejection of imposed limits.
  • Truth Is Marching In, Albert Ayler (1966)
    Ayler transforms the cadence of protest into sonic prophecy, blending march rhythms with ecstatic improvisation. The track echoes the spirit of the Black Power Movement, suggesting that truth is not passive—it advances, it insists, it moves through history with urgency and sound.
  • Four Women, Nina Simone(1966)
    A haunting, narrative-driven song that traces the layered histories of Black womanhood, Simone turns voice into vessel—holding trauma, resilience, and identity in a single, unfolding arc. It embodies the Black Arts Movement’s insistence on truth-telling and the centrality of Black women’s lives and struggles.
  • Respect, Aretha Franklin(1967)
    More than a song, a demand, Franklin transforms a simple plea into a declaration of Black dignity, gender justice, and self-worth, embodying the ethos of “Black Is Beautiful!” through voice, power, and presence.
  • People in Sorrow, Art Ensemble of Chicago (1969)
    A meditative, expansive composition that stretches time itself, this piece transforms sorrow into collective reflection. It embodies the Black Arts Movement’s commitment to depth, ritual, and emotional truth—where music becomes ceremony and sound becomes witness.
  • The Creator Has a Master Plan, Pharoah Sanders (1969)
    A spiritual anthem of Black consciousness, blending mysticism, protest, and collective vision.
  • Message to Our Folks, Art Ensemble of Chicago (1969)
    A declaration in title and tone, this work affirms the ensemble’s mission: to create music rooted in Black experience and directed toward Black communities. It blends tradition and experimentation, echoing the Black Aesthetic’s call for art that is both innovative and accountable.
  • Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud, James Brown (1968)
    The slogan becomes sound—an anthem of affirmation central to the ethos of “Black Is Beautiful!”
  • Compared to What, Les McCann & Eddie Harris (1969)
    A searing critique of inequality, merging groove with political consciousness.
  • Compared to What, Roberta Flack(1969)
    Flack’s rendition transforms this protest song into a contemplative critique of inequality, war, and moral contradiction. Her measured delivery underscores the Black Arts Movement’s insistence that political awareness can be expressed not only through urgency, but through nuance, restraint, and soulful introspection.
  • To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Nina Simone (1969)
    A hymn of self-worth and possibility, honoring Black youth, Black culture, and Black intellectual life.
  • I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I’ll Get It Myself), James Brown(1969)
    A forceful declaration of independence, this track embodies the Black Power principle of self-determination—rejecting dependency and demanding access, agency, and ownership.
  • The Ghetto, Donny Hathaway(1970)
    Driven by groove but grounded in social reality, this track captures the textures of urban Black life, its rhythms, its struggles, its resilience. Hathaway turns observation into atmosphere, echoing the Black Arts Movement’s commitment to representing the everyday with depth and dignity.
  • Super Bad, James Brown (1970)
    Funk as confidence, rhythm as self-definition, embodying pride in motion.
  • To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Donny Hathaway (1970)
    A powerful affirmation of Black identity and intellectual possibility, Hathaway’s rendition transforms the song into a communal anthem, uplifting Black youth while echoing the Black Arts Movement’s commitment to cultural pride, education, and self-definition.
  • Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, James Brown (1970)
    A rhythmic call to action, Brown urges listeners toward political participation and grassroots engagement, turning the groove into a vehicle for mobilization.
  • Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing, James Brown (1970)
    A sharp critique of performative politics, this track challenges empty rhetoric and insists on substance, accountability, and real change.
  • Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler), Marvin Gaye (1971)
    A lament and a critique, mapping systemic injustice through layered sound and feeling.
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Gil Scott-Heron (1971)
    Spoken word meets groove, asserting that true change happens in lived experience, not mediated spectacle.
  • There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Sly and the Family Stone (1971)
    A fragmented, introspective reflection on the turbulence of the era.
  • Make It Funky(Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4), James Brown(1971)
    A masterclass in rhythm and collective interplay, this multi-part suite stretches funk into a sustained act of creation. Brown and his band build, break, and rebuild the groove in real time, embodying the Black Aesthetic’s emphasis on process, participation, and communal energy, where music becomes a living, breathing practice of freedom.
  • Respect Yourself, The Staple Singers(1971)
    A moral and communal call to dignity, aligning self-respect with social justice.
  • Blacknuss, Rahsaan Roland Kirk(1971)
    A jubilant, groove-driven declaration, this track celebrates Black identity with humor, virtuosity, and unapologetic pride. Kirk blends jazz improvisation with soul and funk sensibilities, creating a sound that is both experimental and deeply communal. An audible expression of “Black Is Beautiful!”
  • Be Real Black for Me, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway (1972)
    A quiet, radiant conversation set to melody, this duet centers Black love as truth-telling and mutual recognition. In the context of the Black Aesthetic, it affirms that authenticity, being “real” with and for one another – is itself a political and cultural act.
  • Young, Gifted and Black, Aretha Franklin (1972)
    Franklin reinterprets the anthem with soaring conviction, transforming affirmation into exaltation. Her voice carries the Black Aesthetic’s core message: that Blackness is not only worthy, but wondrous, into a register of collective pride and spiritual elevation.
  • Get on the Good Foot, James Brown (1972)
    Driven by razor-sharp rhythm and relentless groove, this song turns the dance floor into a site of self-definition and release. Brown’s call to “get on the good foot” becomes more than instruction. It’s an invitation to move with purpose, to inhabit the body with pride, and to express freedom through motion, echoing the embodied ethos of the Black Aesthetic.
  • Living for the City, Stevie Wonder (1973)
    A cinematic narrative of migration, struggle, and systemic injustice, this track exposes the harsh realities of urban life while maintaining a deep moral clarity, embodying the Black Aesthetic’s fusion of storytelling, social critique, and sonic innovation.
  • Keep Your Head to the Sky, Earth, Wind & Fire(1973)
    A soulful meditation on perseverance and transcendence, this track channels the spiritual dimension of the Black Aesthetic—urging listeners to remain rooted in hope while reaching toward higher consciousness.
  • Red, Black & Green, Roy Ayers (1973)
    A sonic tribute to Pan-African identity and cultural unity.
  • Space Is the Place, Sun Ra(1973)
    A manifesto in sound, this track projects Black liberation beyond Earth itself, transforming the Black Arts ethos into cosmic possibility—where freedom is imagined without the limits of the nation-state.
  • Chocolate City, Parliament(1975)
    A celebration of Black urban political power, this song names the city as a site of Black governance, pride, and presence—echoing the Black Arts Movement’s commitment to community control and cultural affirmation.
  • Mothership Connection (Star Child), Parliament(1975)
    Funk becomes mythology here—George Clinton’s sonic universe extends Afro-Modern and Black Arts ideas into Afrofuturism, where Black identity is interstellar, sacred, and sovereign.
  • One Nation Under a Groove, Funkadelic(1978)
    A democratic vision set to rhythm, this track imagines unity through movement—freedom as collective groove, where the dance floor becomes a space of liberation and shared power.
  • Alright, Kendrick Lamar (2015)
    A contemporary anthem of resilience, echoing the spirit of Black affirmation and resistance.
  • We the People…, A Tribe Called Quest (2016)
    Rap as inheritor of Black Arts principles—direct, communal, and politically charged.
  • Power, Rapsodyfeat. Kendrick Lamar& Lance Skiiiwalker(2017)
    This track channels the spirit of the Black Power Movementthrough sharp lyricism and layered production, affirming Black identity, resilience, and self-determination. Rapsody reframes power not as domination, but as historical awareness, cultural knowledge, and collective strength—echoing the Black Arts Movement’s insistence that art must serve liberation.
  • PYNK, Janelle Monáe (2018)
    Expanding the Black Aesthetic into the present, celebrating identity, embodiment, and freedom.

Closing Reflection

These songs are not relics; they are resources. They remind us that the Black Aesthetic was never only about style—it was about survival, self-definition, and the struggle to make beauty a public good. In every note, we hear a people refusing erasure and rehearsing freedom—again and again, in rhythm and resistance.

What did we miss? Email us thecaaas@gmail.com