baraka

¹

[ buh-rah-kuh ]

noun

, Islam.

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

Baraka

²

[ buh-rah-kuh ]

noun

1. I·ma·mu A·mi·ri [ih-, mah, -moo , uh, -, meer, -ee], Everett LeRoi Jones, 1934–2014, U.S. dramatist, poet, and political activist.

Word History and Origins

Origin of baraka¹

< Arabic barakah; compare Hebrew bərākhāh blessing

Example Sentences

Having made the board game available to more than 4,000 Ugandan students while shouldering rigorous coursework of his own, Baraka tells OZY, “It’s so amazing to know that you’re helping children from home who previously couldn’t access learning.”

From Ozy

Teachers reached out to Baraka asking for more games while schools were shuttered.

From Ozy

Soon after beginning his college courses in Madison, Baraka created the board game 5 STA-Z, a product of his startup social enterprise My Home Stars, and the result of working closely with the teachers from his refugee camp’s primary school.

From Ozy

Frustrated by the constant work required to maintain his home’s grass-thatched roof, easily damaged by wind, rain and rodents, Baraka set his sights on becoming an engineer in hopes that he could one day build a more durable house for his family.

From Ozy

Whenever he returned home from South Africa, Baraka volunteered as a teacher’s aid at his former primary school “I realized children in the front were very concentrated while the ones in the back were doing their own things,” he recalls.

From Ozy

I watch his stand-up, I watch Chris Rock's, I read Baldwin and Baraka, I listen to Kanye.

From The Daily Beast

Amiri Baraka echoed this sentiment 17 years after Raisin premiered—post-Birmingham, post-Medgar, post-Malcolm.

From The Daily Beast

“On one level, Walter Lee is merely aspiring to full and acknowledged humanity,” writes Amiri Baraka.

From The Daily Beast

Baraka actually suggests that his ties to gang leaders would allow him to broker a peace among the gangs of Newark.

From The Daily Beast

Thousands of children are on wait lists to get in charters and Baraka insists that he supports them as part of the overall system.

From The Daily Beast

Baraka went back to Tipo Tipo's village, thus putting his intention of begging among the Arab slaves into operation.

From Project Gutenberg

We then separated; and Baraka, by my orders, gave the thief fifty lashes for his double offence of theft and desertion.

From Project Gutenberg

Baraka and all the men begged I would give in, as they were sure he must be a good man to send such a kind message.

From Project Gutenberg

I saw at once what the game was; so I asked my friend where he got it, on which he at once pointed to Baraka.

From Project Gutenberg

Off went Baraka with a party of men, stopping hours, of course, and firing volleys of ammunition away.

From Project Gutenberg