Should Amiri Baraka Resign?

Dear Editor,
On September 19, 2002, New Jersey poet laureate Amiri Baraka read a controversial poem entitled "Somebody Blew Up America" at the Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey. The poem included the stanza, "Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed/Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers/ To stay home that day/Why did Sharon stay away?", implying that the Israelis knew about the incident on September 11 and did nothing to prevent it from happening. After reading the poem at the festival, Baraka was accused of being anti-Semitic and he was urged by Governor James McGreevey to apologize and resign. Despite the constant pressure, Amiri Baraka refused to resign or even apologize. …