A leading force in the Black Arts Movement, Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones 80 years ago today on Oct. 7, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. Baraka died in Newark on January 9 at the age of 79.

A day after he died, Democracy Now! hosted a remarkable roundtable with four of Baraka’s longtime comrades and friends: the poets Sonia Sanchez and Felipe Luciano, scholar Komozi Woodard, and Larry Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress in Newark.

Watch the expanded two-part special (including a 50-minute section never aired on Democracy Now!)

Amiri Baraka (1934-2014): Poet-Playwright-Activist Who Shaped Revolutionary Politics, Black Culture

Remembering Amiri Baraka Part 2 Featuring Sonia Sanchez, Felipe Luciano, Larry Hamm, Komozi Woodard