On Feb. 1, the Inquirer and Daily News sponsored an educational supplement in their newspapers titled the "22nd Annual Celebration of Black Writing." As a high school English teacher in the Philadelphia School District, I made a special note to order the supplement for use in my classroom. My knowledge of African-American literature is relatively broad, but I like to stay current and learn new things.

There were six black writers highlighted: Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Haki R. Madhubuti, Askia Toure, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer and Mari Evans. Although all of these writers were very accomplished, the one who immediately caught my eye was Baraka. Born LeRoi Jones in Newark, N.J., he officially changed his name as part of his rejection of the white establishment.

To try to make Baraka and his ideologies more applicable to a racially mixed class of 10th graders, I carefully read his profile in the supplement, which highlighted his long list of awards and publishing credits, his various positions with prestigious universities. Then I visited his Web site, www.amiribaraka.com, for background information. The material I found there was quite shocking.

On the first page was an article, apparently by Baraka, headlined, "Does Newark Want to Go Back to 1967?" The article went on to talk about the race riots in the cities of Detroit and Watts in the 1960s (Baraka called them "rebellions"), and how blacks in New Jersey must continue to stand up against the "racist repression" of the white power structure in America. The article also claimed Israel was trying to ethnically cleanse itself of Palestinians and blamed George W. Bush and his "coven of devil worshippers" for the 9/11 attacks.

There was another article on his Web site (or "outpost," as he called it) titled "The Slavemasters' Bloody Banner Must Be Pulled Down Now!" This piece, apparently by Baraka, called for the banning of the Confederate flag because "flying of the Confederate flag … makes the act of self defense completely legal." In other words, the article suggested, it's perfectly legal to use violence against anyone who raises the Confederate flag.

Whether Baraka's opinions are justified is not the point. The point is that the "22nd Annual Celebration of Black Writing" listed Baraka's Web site as a resource for further reading, a resource for children to use to "celebrate" black writers.

I've been teaching high school English for almost 10 years. I consider myself liberal and open-minded, but I'm not going to bring Baraka and his radical anti-authoritarian rhetoric into my classroom. His fiction, along with his plays and poetry, preach Black Power and call for the liberation of the Black Man. Baraka's militant themes serve to polarize the races rather than unite them.

With such a rich pool of contemporary black writers to choose from, with writers like Eric Jerome Dickey, Terry McMillan, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker topping the best-seller lists, how did Baraka find his way onto the pages of an educational supplement? How did a man who, in 2002, was removed as New Jersey's poet laureate because of his inflammatory poem "Somebody Blew Up America" become a role model for teenagers?

I'm not sure who made the administrative decision to include Baraka, but the editors of the "22nd Annual Celebration of Black Writing" should have exercised better judgment. Even the title of the supplement's introduction, "A Creative Revolution, A Celebration of Beauty," is inappropriate. A revolution against what? Against whom?

Hip-hop culture, along with the diversity of urban education, have ended any need for a "Creative Revolution." In a world where the best golfer is black (Tiger Woods) and the best rapper is white (Eminem), teenagers are becoming color blind. Editors of black writing supplements should be aware of this, and choose authors who promote celebration, not confrontation.

Christopher Paslay is an English teacher at Swenson Arts and Technology High School in Northeast Philadelphia.