baraka

¹ American  

[buh-rah-kuh] / bəˈrɑ kə /

noun

Islam.

1. a spiritual power believed to be possessed by certain persons, objects, tombs, etc.

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Baraka ² American  

[buh-rah-kuh] / bəˈrɑ kə /

noun

1. Imamu Amiri Everett LeRoi Jones, 1934–2014, U.S. dramatist, poet, and political activist.

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Etymology

Origin of baraka

< Arabic barakah; compare Hebrew bərākhāh blessing

Example Sentences

In the belly of a whale at a jazz venue in Little Tokyo, early 2014, I gathered with Fred Moten, Kima Jones and others to memorialize Amiri Baraka a week or so after his death.

From Los Angeles Times

I was visiting from New York at the time, Fred lived here then and taught at UC Riverside, and I emailed the owner of the Blue Whale explaining that we should be on the East Coast at Baraka’s funeral but because we were here, we had to do something to celebrate him, it was urgent.

From Los Angeles Times

The owner, Joon Lee, responded in kind and gave us a Monday night to improvise our grief; we read Baraka’s poems to one another and told stories.

From Los Angeles Times

Habba similarly tried to charge Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was with McIver, but dropped the charge after a judge criticized her for “worrisome” and “embarrassing” decisions in the case.

From Slate

The charges against Baraka were later dropped.

From Salon