Edited and with introduction by Tom Lloyd. Text by Melvin Dixon, Imamu Amiri Baraka (Le Roi Jones), Jeff Donaldson, Bing Davis, Ray Elkins, Francis Ward, Val Gray Ward, Babatunde Folayemi (Tony Northern), and introductory essay to the Whitney exhibition "Contemporary Black Artists in America" by Robert Doty.

"The spirit of the Black Arts Movement is expressed here by Black artists of the many disciplines embodying Black Art. Their positive philosophies affirm a need for a collective effort to project, glorify and protect Black expression from the destructive forces that threaten its survival. What began as a counterstatement to the introduction in the catalog (herein included as an appendix) of the "Contemporary Black Artists in America" exhibition at the Whitney Museum in April 1971 has transcended its original purpose and has become more than just a rebuttal to the misrepresentations in the introduction. It has developed into Black Art Notes which is a concrete affirmation of Black Art philosophy as interpreted by eight Black artists. Many included are undergoing a baptism of thought; all are formulating principles and criteria as it relates to the Black aesthetic and the struggle for Black Liberation." -- from book's introduction.