“Slaves too familiar with the circumstances, they begin to boast to one another of the chain that connects the foot of his surprise. On the contrary they begin to laugh at free people who are not in chains. But the chain that connects the slaves is actually a chain of the same one only. And a slave is only a slave. Slaves of the past are not ceded the freedom of spirit, they were trying to free himself. But modern slaves become slaves of their own, they do not realize it. On the contrary they are proud to be a slave.”
Some segments of the Japanese working classes employ Amiri Baraka’s poetry to protest against exceedingly demanding work requirements put on them by Japanese corporations, according to articles written about him on the internet. It’s believed that Amiri Baraka [also known as Everett LeRoi Jones] invoked the poetry during a 1968 Harlem speech.
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