At the time of the publication of “An Agony. As Now.,” Baraka was associated with Umbra, a collective of young, Black writers living in New York. It included Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Cecil Taylor, Steve Caon, and Tom Dent, among others. This group was one of the first radical, post-Civil Rights groups who made a cultural impact. They were successful at creating a distinct style that was often at odds with white literary establishments and standards. The group held workshops and published Umbra Magazine. They sought to merge art and politics, but disagreements over these issues caused the group to split. This group is seen as a predecessor to the Black Arts Movement (BAM).

The evolution of radical black art also drew upon the Harlem Renaissance that occurred during the 1920s and early 1930s. Langston Hughes, one of the most notable poets of the time, argued for Black writers to have more control of their art and that artists can achieve greatness only by embracing their Blackness. While this explosion of Black art and pride echoes BAM, the Harlem Renaissance did not take many radical political stances or explicitly call for radical political change.

“An Agony. As Now.” reflects many of the emerging themes in Baraka’s canon.