Haki R. Madhubuti
Haki R. Madhubuti, born Don Luther Lee on February 23, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a distinguished African American poet, educator, and publisher known for his significant contributions to literature and the Black Arts movement. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1963, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Madhubuti's poetry, praised by notable figures like Gwendolyn Brooks, often incorporates innovative metaphors drawn from African American life, demonstrating a deep cultural commitment.
In 1974, he adopted the Swahili name Haki R. Madhubuti, meaning "just" and "precise," to reflect his dedication to social change within the African American community. He served as a professor at Chicago State University and founded the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing. As a prolific writer with over thirty books, including influential works such as "Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?" and "GroundWork: New and Selected Poems," Madhubuti has become a pivotal figure in promoting independent African American institutions and literature.
He also co-founded several organizations, including the National Association of Black Book Publishers, and has been an advocate for the principles of Kwanzaa. Madhubuti continues to be an influential voice, addressing contemporary issues through his writing and lectures, striving for healing and empowerment within the African American community.
Haki R. Madhubuti
Author
- Born: February 23, 1942
- Birthplace: Little Rock, Arkansas
Poet, publisher, and educator
Madhubuti is best known as the publisher of Third World Press and was one of the most significant poets of the Black Arts movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
Areas of achievement: Education; Journalism and publishing; Literature; Poetry
Early Life
Born Don Luther Lee on February 23, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Haki R. Madhubuti was the son of Jimmy Lee and Helen Maxine Graves Lee. The poet Gwendolyn Brooks later became his adopted cultural mother. When Madhubuti was young, the family moved to Ecorse, Michigan, where his sister, Jacklyn, was born. The family soon moved to Inkster, Michigan, and then into the Black Bottom, the lower east side of Detroit. Within two months, Jimmy Lee had abandoned his family, leaving Madhubuti’s mother to raise her two children alone.
By the time he was fourteen, Madhubuti had been introduced to African American literature through the writings of Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar. He served in the US Army from 1960 to 1963 and later received a master of fine arts degree from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. By the time he graduated, Madhubuti had become a major poet.
Life’s Work
Beginning in the 1960s, Madhubuti drew praise from established poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Hoyt Fuller. Brooks called him “much purer and (more) persuasive as a poet than any of the Harlem Renaissance poets, who mainly read their works to white audiences.” Madhubuti crafted innovative metaphors and tropes drawn from African American life. He was a prominent writer throughout the 1960s and 1970s and a leading figure in the Black Arts movement.
In 1974, Madhubuti took a Swahili name to signal his commitment to bringing a major change into the African American community. The name “Haki” means “just” or “justice,” and “Madhubuti” means “precise, accurate, and dependable.”
In 1984, Madhubuti became a professor of English at Chicago State University, where he founded the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing and cocreated the master’s degree program in creative writing. He held the post until 2010, after which time he taught at DePaul University in Chicago. His experience as an educator and a writer made him a sought-after lecturer in colleges, libraries, and community centers in the United States and abroad.
A proponent of independent African American institutions that support education and consciousness, Madhubuti was the founder, publisher, and chairman of the board of Third World Press. He also cofounded the Institute of Positive Education/New Concept Development Center and the Betty Shabazz International Charter School, named for the wife of Malcolm X. He founded the National Association of Black Book Publishers, the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, and the National Black Writers Retreat. As one of the champions of Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, Madhubuti based much of his philosophy and teachings on the writings of philosopher and Kwanzaa creator Maulana Karenga.
Significance
A prolific writer, Madhubuti has more than thirty books and scores of papers and monographs to his credit. By 2010, he had more than three million books of poetry and nonfiction in print. Among his best-selling works are Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? (1990), Claiming Earth: Race, Rage, Rape, Redemption (1994), GroundWork: New and Selected Poems of Don L. Lee/Haki R. Madhubuti from 1966-1996 (1996), and Heartlove: Wedding and Love Poems (1998). Also notable are earlier works such as Book of Life (1973), Killing Memory, Seeking Ancestors (1987), From Plan to Planet, Life Studies: The Need for Afrikan Minds and Institutions (1973), and an essay collection, Enemies: The Clash of Races (1978). Though a less prolific writer in his later years, he has continued to publish nonfiction and poetry, releasing Taking Bullets: Black Boys and Men in Twenty-First Century America Fighting Terrorism, Stopping Violence and Seeking Healing in 2016 and Taught by Women: Poems as Resistance Language, New and Selected in 2020.
Madhubuti coedited two important literary volumes, Releasing the Spirit: A Collection of Literary Works from “Gallery Thirty-Seven” (1998) and Describe the Moment: A Collection of Literary Works from “Gallery Thirty-Seven” (2000). His work was anthologized by other writers in more than thirty-five volumes between 1997 and 2009. He also wrote Tough Notes: A Healing Call for Creating Exceptional Black Men (2002) to address the cultural decline and despair he observed in the African American community.
Bibliography
Avilez, Gershun. "The Black Arts Movement." The Cambridge Companion to American Civil Rights Literature. Ed. Julie Armstrong. New York: Cambridge UP, 2015. 49–64. Print.
Hooper, Lita. The Art of Work: The Art and Life of Haki R. Madhubuti. Chicago: Third World, 2007. Print.
Jennings, Regina. Malcolm X and the Poetics of Haki Madhubuti. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. Print.
Kogan, Rick. "Haki Madhubuti Is a Chicago Literary Force." Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
Madhubuti, Haki. Freedom to Self-Destruct: Much Easier to Believe than Think—New and Collected Essays. Chicago: Third World, 2009. Print.
Madhubuti, Haki. "The Good Fight: An Interview with Haki R. Madhubuti on 'Taught by Women.'" Interview by Donald G. Evans. Newcity, 1 Mar. 2021, lit.newcity.com/2021/03/01/the-good-fight-an-interview-with-haki-r-madhubuti-on-taught-by-women/. Accessed 20 July 2021.
Madhubuti, Haki. Liberation Narratives: New and Collected Poems, 1966-2009. Chicago: Third World, 2009. Print.
Madhubuti, Haki. YellowBlack: The First Twenty-one Years of a Poet’s Life. Chicago: Third World, 2005. Print.
Simanga, Michael. "The Black Arts Movement and CAP." Amiri Baraka and the Congress of African People: History and Memory. New York: Palgrave, 2015. 49–52. Print.