The Last Poets: E. Pluribus Unum (One Out of Many)

The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement’s black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns would take over. The original users of that name were the trio of Abiodun Oyewole, Gylan Kain, and David Nelson. The Original Last Poets formed on May 19, 1968 (Malcolm X’s birthday), at Marcus Garvey Park, and they came together as a group at the 1969 Harlem writers’ workshop known as East Wind. E. Pluribus Unum was from their 4th Album, Chastisement, in 1972. The lyrics tell a pretty deep story/background about the AMERICAN DOLLAR BILL.