Haki R. Madhubuti Papers and Third World Press Collection | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Haki R. Madhubuti, born Don L. Lee on February 23, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the founder and publisher of Third World Press, the oldest independent Black owned publishing company. He is also a prolific and accomplished author, poet, professor, and guest lecturer. Madhubuti grew up in Detroit and then Chicago. He was encouraged to read by his mother, who died when he was sixteen. As a teenager, Madhubuti formed relationships with literary figures who mentored him and supported his writing, notably Gwendolyn Brooks and Dudley Randall. In 1967, with a $400 honorarium, he started Third World Press in the basement of his apartment building in Chicago with Johari Amini and Carolyn Rodgers.

Since its inception, Third World Press has published works related to advancing Black thought across genres. Third World Press was founded in response to inequalities in the publishing industry. At the time, mainstream (white) publishers would not publish or promote works about the Black experience written by Black authors. A wealth of creative output was being produced, but largely was not being published. Third World Press succeeded in creating a space to support authors of color and their work. Notable authors published by Third World Press include Gwendolyn Brooks, Dudley Randall, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Pearl Cleage, Useni Eugene Perkins, and Frances Cress, among many others.

Third World Press quickly became a central influence in the Black Arts Movement during the 1960s and 1970s. The Black Arts Movement grew out of the Black Power Movement in response to the assassination of Malcom X and can be considered the cultural extension of the Black Power Movement. The movement focused on creating politically engaged artistic work by, about, and for the Black community. The goal of the movement was to create a self-determined future, independent of the dominant and oppressive western and white systems at work. Inspired by the movement and a trip to Africa, Madhubuti changed his name in 1974 from Don L. Lee to Haki R. Madhubuti, Haki meaning "justice" and Madhubuti meaning "precise, accurate, and dependable" in Swahili. Other notable Black Arts Movement institutions include Broadside Press, Black Arts Repertory Theater, and the US Organization.

In addition to their publishing endeavors, other organizations were created as offshoots from Third World Press, the Third World Press Foundation (founded 1967), and Madhubuti's work. The Institute of Positive Education (formally the New Concept Development Center) was founded in 1969 as an African-centered community service organization with after-school care, summer programming, and community events. In 1974, the Institute started a pre-school, the New Concept School. Madhubuti later co-founded three additional Chicago schools: Betty Shabazz International Charter School (1998), Barbara A. Sizemore Middle School (1998), and DuSable Leadership Academy (2005-2016).

Madhubuti also founded the literary journal, Black Books Bulletin (1970-1994), which was published by the Institute of Positive Education and focused on Black writing. Third World Press also runs the Prison Literacy Program, which sends books to prisoners who write and request them. In 1990, Madhubuti co-founded the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing at Chicago State University while serving as the director of the MFA creative writing program. The Gwendolyn Brooks center houses the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, founded by Madhubuti in 1998.

In 1984, Madhubuti received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. He has won numerous awards over his illustrious career, including three honorary degrees, and is a frequent speaker at colleges, universities, and conferences. Madhubuti has held faculty positions at Chicago State University, Columbia College of Chicago, Cornell University, University of Illinois Chicago, Howard University, Morgan State University, University of Iowa, and DePaul University. As of 2024, Madhubuti continues to run Third World Press.