, also known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu , is one of the main leaders and inspirations of the Black Arts Repertory. Born in Newark, NJ, in 1934 to a middle-class family, Baraka attended Rutgers University then transferred to receive his degree from Howard University. Baraka served in the military for three years before settling in Greenwich Village in New York, at the heart of the Beat scene. Baraka began writing seriously and with first wife, Hettie Cohen, founded the influential Beat literary journal, Yugen. Baraka then grew in notority when h ....