His political stance would be a war cry and many warriors would rise to swell his ranks. He opened tightly guarded doors for not only Blacks but poor whites as well, and of course, Native Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans. We’d all still be waiting the on the invitation from the New Yorker without him. He taught us all how to claim it and take it back.

|

From "Remembrance," from Amiri Baraka: The Kaleidoscope Torch. Copyright © 1985 Steppingstone Press.