Haki R. Madhubuti Papers and Third World Press Collection | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
<span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US">Haki R. Madhubuti, born Don L. Lee on February 23, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the founder and publisher of Third World Press, the oldest independent Black owned publishing company. He is also a prolific and accomplished author, poet, professor, and guest lecturer. Madhubuti grew up in Detroit and then Chicago. He was encouraged to read by his mother, who died when he was sixteen.�?�¢?�?�¯</span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{179}" paraid="517942261" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.5042px; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{183}" paraid="1923484621" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">As a teenager, Madhubuti formed relationships with literary figures who mentored him and supported his writing, notably Gwendolyn Brooks and Dudley Randall. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious Iowa Writers�?�¢?? Workshop at the University of Iowa. In 1967, with a $400 honorarium, he started Third World Press in the basement of his apartment building in Chicago with Johari </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Amini</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"> and Carolyn Rodgers.�?�¢?�?�¯</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{193}" paraid="1730126168" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.5042px; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{197}" paraid="1132306466" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US">Since its inception, Third World Press has published works related to advancing Black thought across genres. Third World Press was founded in response to inequalities in the publishing industry. At the time, mainstream (white) publishers would not publish or promote works about the Black experience written by Black authors. A wealth of creative output was being produced, but largely wasn�?�¢??t being published. Third World Press succeeded in creating a space to support authors of color and their work.�?�¢?�?�¯</span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{203}" paraid="1165302057" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.5042px; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{207}" paraid="944965490" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US">Third World Press quickly became a central influence in the Black Arts Movement during the 1960s and 1970s. The Black Arts Movement grew out of the Black Power Movement in response to the assassination of Malcom X and can be considered the cultural extension of the Black Power Movement. The movement focused on creating politically engaged artistic work by, about, and for the Black community. The goal of the movement was to create a self-determined future, independent of the dominant and oppressive western and white systems at work. Many of the writers and artists of the movement</span><span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US">found success in mainstream literary culture and academia. Inspired by the movement and a trip to Africa, Madhubuti changed his name in 1974 from Don L. Lee to Haki R. Madhubuti. Haki means �?�¢??justice�?�¢?? and Madhubuti means �?�¢??precise, accurate, and dependable�?�¢?? in Swahili.</span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{217}" paraid="1683061293" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.5042px; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{221}" paraid="617152875" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Notable authors published by Third World Press include Gwendolyn Brooks, Dudley Randall, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Amiri</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"> Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Pearl </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Cleage</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Useni</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"> Eugene Perkins, and Frances Cress </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Welsing</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">, among many others. Other notable Black Arts Movement institutions include Broadside Press, Black Arts Repertory Theater, and the US Organization.�?�¢?�?�¯�?�¢?�?�¯</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{243}" paraid="1313348869" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.5042px; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{1ff80d25-2486-4e27-9451-b2115f790f65}{247}" paraid="1066276523" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">In addition to their publishing endeavors, other organizations were created as offshoots from Third World Press, the Third World Press Foundation (founded 1967), and Madhubuti�?�¢??s work. The Institute of Positive Education (formally the New Concept Development Center) was founded in 1969 as an African-centered community service </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">organization with after-school care, summer programming, and community events. In 1974, the Institute started a pre-school, the New Concept School. Both organizations are still in existence. Madhubuti also co-founder three other schools in Chicago: Betty Shabazz International Charter School, Barbara A. Sizemore Middle School, and </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">DuSable</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"> Leadership Academy. Madhubuti founded the literary journal Black Books Bulletin (1970-1994) which was published by the Institute of Positive </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Education, and</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"> focused on Black writing. Third World Press also runs the Prison Literacy Program, which sends books to prisoners who write and request them. Madhubuti co-founded the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing at Chicago State University in 1990 while serving as the director of the MFA creative writing program. The Gwendolyn Brooks center houses the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, also founded by Madhubuti, in 1998.�?�¢?�?�¯</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{d7daab3e-0a8b-40fd-bfa8-8a1172c7d2c8}{8}" paraid="1225289061" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.5042px; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif;"> </span>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW261159090 BCX0" paraeid="{d7daab3e-0a8b-40fd-bfa8-8a1172c7d2c8}{12}" paraid="1666817094" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;" xml:lang="EN-US">Madhubuti has won numerous awards over his illustrious career, including three honorary degrees. He is a frequent speaker at colleges, universities, and conferences, and has held faculty positions at Chicago State University, Columbia College of Chicago, Cornell University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Howard University, Morgan State University, University of Iowa, and DePaul University. Madhubuti continues to run Third World Press.</span><span class="EOP SCXW261159090 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span>
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Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Submit request (Aeon) |
Haki R. Madhubuti is an American poet, educator, and publisher who founded Third World Press in 1967 with Carolyn Rodgers and Johari Amini. Birthed in the Black Arts Movement of Chicago, the press focused on publishing work by and about the Black experience across the diaspora. It is currently the longest running independent Black press in the United States and was the publishing home to many poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Sonia Sanchez, Pearl Cleage, Etheridge Knight, and Amiri Baraka. Haki Madhubuti also founded a number of educational institutions including the Institute for Positive Education and the Betty Shabazz International Charter School in Chicago. The collection includes the personal papers of Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti and the publishing records of Third World Press.
This collection is not open to researchers at this time.