................. a group of poets and musicians who
arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights
movement's black nationalist thread. Their name is taken
from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse
Kgositsile, who believed he was in the last era of poetry
before guns would take over.
The original Last Poets formed on May 19, 1968 (Malcolm X's birthday),
at Marcus Garvey Park (formerly Mount Morris Park, at 124th Street
and Fifth Avenue) in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
The original members were Felipe Luciano, Gylan Kain, and David Nelson.
The group continued to evolve via a 1969 Harlem writers' workshop
known as East Wind. Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Umar Bin Hassan,
and Abiodun Oyewole, along with percussionist Nilaja, are generally
considered the primary and core members of the group, as they
appeared on the group's 1970 self-titled debut (contracted by noted
Jimi Hendrix producer Alan Douglas) and, in various combinations,
on subsequent releases. Luciano, Kain, and Nelson recorded
separately as -The Original Last Poets,- gaining some renown
as the soundtrack artists for the 1971 film -Right On!
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