James Baldwin, one of the mid-20th centuries best writers and speakers – some might insist on an “arguably” in there, but I’ll take my chances! – is often overlooked or at least under appreciated as an interpreter and prophet of the Civil Rights movement. While he returned from his self-exile in France in 1957 to participate directly and was always in or near the inner circle of planning, implementing, and publicly speaking about what was happening, he brought a long term view somewhat different from many of his peers, and at times in conflict with other major leaders.
Baldwin understood clearly that the struggle at its core had to do with white behavior and perceptions, and it was those that needed to change if the scourge of racism and its continuing impact on America were to be dealt with. He also understood that little beyond cosmetics could change until white folks and the country acknowledged that the country was built on genocide and oppression, of Native Americans and enslaved people, and that the ingrained institutional racism, attitudes and behaviors ended neither with the end of slavery, nor with the successes of the Civil Rights era.
I Am Not Your Negro, the 2016 (Oscar-nominated) movie directed by Raoul Peck, relies only on words written by Baldwin, and wonderfully and calmly delivered by Samuel Jackson, along with archival footage of Baldwin and some of the events he describes. The words come from an unfinished manuscript he was working on prior to his death in 1987 that was focused on the lives and deaths of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. It’s an important movie, that neither embellishes nor dulls Baldwin’s words.
The movie works well; it’s not preachy and will hold your attention and focus. You should see it – and then listen to additional excerpts from Baldwin’s speeches (Pacifica archives has many of them and google leads to even more), and if you haven’t – or haven’t in a while — take a look at his writings, both fiction and non-fiction. Much of what Baldwin said in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s seems even more on-target today.