Queering black power : longing for a hero.

Abstract

Both Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin had links to the Black Liberation Movements of 1960s and 1970s. Both of these men wrote fiction and social essays on the state of race relations in the United States. Amiri Baraka wrote short stories disavowing homosexuals in his writings. James Baldwin explored queer themes and queer characters in many of his works of fiction during this period. What simultaneously connected and disconnected these two men were their beliefs on human sexuality. While Baraka disavowed his sexuality, James Baldwin openly critiqued the treatment of homosexuals. My thesis explores how Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin discussed black masculinity, Black Liberation, queerness, freedom, and democracy. The brands of masculinity these two men presented in their writings queered them as well as Black Liberation. This created a connection to Gay Liberation. My aim with this project was to provide a lens into understanding Black liberation, Gay liberation, Women's liberation, Third World liberation, and ultimately every movement of liberation against western hegemony as queer movements. I argue that the search for freedom and the disavowal of inauthentic identities coupled with a quest for inclusion in the American freedom project queered Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin. I argue as they wrote to extend freedom to their black bodies, they also queered black liberation. The first chapter opens up with a review of the literature and research on relevant topics relating to Black Liberation, queerness, and black masculinity. Chapter two analyzes the literature and social essays of Amiri Baraka and establishes what I define as queer longing. Chapters three and four examine the literature and social essays of James Baldwin and explain how Baldwin's brand of masculinity queered Black Liberation.