SOURCE: A review of "Slave Ship," in The New York Times, November 22, 1969, p. 22.

In the review below, Barnes outlines the political message of "Slave Ship," and praises Baraka's provocative delivery of his black militant outlook.

LeRoi Jones's new play, "Slave Ship," … raises for a white critic somber and awful problems. It is a strong, strange play that once seen will never be forgotten. But to regard it simply as a work of art and to sidestep nimbly its implications would be nothing but dishonest.

This is a propaganda play. It is a black militant play. It is a racist play. It purports to counsel black revolution. It is a "get whitey" play. Its attitudes are ugly and prejudiced, and its airily total condemnation of the white American is as sick as a Ku Klux Klanner at a rally.

To an extent it is a celebration of the death...