Umbra was a collective of young

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

writers based in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

that was founded in 1962.

Background

Umbra was one of the first post-

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Black literary groups to make an impact as radical in the sense of establishing their own voice distinct from, and sometimes at odds with, the prevailing white literary establishment. The attempt to merge a Black-oriented activist thrust with a primarily artistic orientation produced a classic split in Umbra between those who wanted to be activists and those who thought of themselves as primarily writers, though to some extent all members shared both views. Black writers have always had to face the issue of whether their work was primarily

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

. Moreover, Umbra itself had evolved out of similar circumstances: in 1960 a Black nationalist literary organization, On Guard for Freedom, had been founded on the Lower East Side by Calvin Hicks. Its members included Nannie and Walter Bowe,

Harold Cruse Harold Wright Cruse (March 8, 1916 – March 26, 2005) was an American academic who was a social critic and teacher of African American studies at the University of Michigan until the mid-1980s. ''The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual'' (1967) ...

(who was then working on ''The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual'', 1967), Tom Dent,

Rosa Guy Rosa Cuthbert Guy () (September 1, 1922Margalit Fox"Rosa Guy, 89, Author of Forthright Novels for Young People, Dies" ''The New York Times'', June 7, 2012. – June 3, 2012) was a Trinidad-born American writer who grew up in the New York metro ...

, Joe Johnson, LeRoi Jones, and

Sarah Wright Sarah Fay Wright Olsen (born September 28, 1983) is an American actress. She played Millicent Gergich in a recurring role on ''Parks and Recreation''. Career Wright began her acting career at an early age. When she was 14 years old she became ...

, among others. On Guard was active in a famous protest at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

of the American-sponsored Bay of Pigs Cuban invasion and was active in support of the Congolese liberation leader

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...

. From On Guard, Dent, Johnson, and Brenda Walcott and Askia Touré established Umbra.

''Umbra Magazine''

The Umbra collective produced ''Umbra Magazine'', which grew out of Friday-night workshops, meetings, and readings on Manhattan's Lower East Side in summer 1962, "and out of the need expressed for it at those meetings". Two issues, edited by Calvin Hernton, David Henderson and Tom Dent, were produced during the group's life-time, including a 'Richard Wright Mnemonicon' in the second issue. After the group split and the workshops themselves ended following the assassinations of Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy, David Henderson took over as editor. A third issue appeared as 'Umbra Anthology: 1967-1968', followed by the fourth issue,
Umbra Blackworks
in 1970, and
Umbra Latin / Soul
, co-edited by Henderson, Barbara Christian and Victor Hernandez Cruz in 1974.

Major writers

* Steve Cannon * Thomas Covington Dent/Tom Dent *Al Haynes * David Henderson * Calvin C. Hernton *Joe Johnson *

Norman Pritchard Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian athlete and actor who became the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in ...

* Lennox Raphael * Ishmael Reed *

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, musician-writer *

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, musician-poet *Art Berger *

Lorenzo Thomas Lorenzo Thomas (October 26, 1804 – March 2, 1875) was a career United States Army officer who was Adjutant General of the Army at the beginning of the American Civil War. After the war, he was appointed temporary Secretary of War by U.S. ...

*James Thompson *

Askia M. Touré Askia Muhammad Touré (Rolland Snellings) (born October 13, 1938 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is an African-American poet, essayist, political editor, and leading voice of the Black Arts Movement. Toure helped to define a new generation of black ...

(Roland Snellings; also a visual artist) *Brenda Walcott * Raymond R. Patterson *Rashidah Ismaili Askia Touré, a major shaper of "cultural

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

," directly influenced LeRoi Jones, along with Umbra writer Charles Patterson and Charles's brother, William Patterson. Touré joined Jones, Steve Young, and others at BART/S (Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School). Umbra is often cited as a predecessor to the Black Arts Movement, and is discussed in books such as Eugene Redmond's Drumvoices, Aldon Nielsen's ''Black Chant'', Kalamu ya Salaam's ''The Magic of Juju'' and Lorenzo Thomas's ''Extraordinary Measures''. Many members of Umbra took part in Black Arts and post-Black Arts activity, including Ishmael Reed's Before Columbus Foundation in California, David Henderson's involvement with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York, and Tom Dent's work with The Free Southern Theatre in New Orleans. (Dent also established the long-running magazine ''Callaloo'', alongside Charles Henry Rowell and Jerry Ward).Tom Dent,
Preface
, ''Callaloo'' No. 1 (Dec., 1976), pp. v-vi.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* ttp://streamsofexpression.blogspot.com/2019/02/a-black-arts-poetry-machine.html 'A Black Arts Poetry Machine' African-American poets American poets

Background

''Umbra Magazine''

Major writers

Further reading

References

External links