Biography

Haki R. Madhubuti is known for Being Mary Jane (2013), Eyes on the Prize (1987) and American Experience (1988). He has been married to Safisha since 1974. They have two children.

He changed his name in 1974. In the Swahili language, "haki" means "justice" and "madhubuti" means "accurate" or "precise".

He founded Third World Press in his basement apartment in Chicago, using $400 earned from poetry readings to buy a mimeograph machine.

He was born in Little Rock, Ark., and raised in Detroit. He moved to Chicago in his teens and graduated from Dunbar High School. He attended various local colleges, and served in the Army in the early 1960s.

He is a poet, publisher, teacher, writer, and activist. He has written over 30 books of poetry and nonfiction.