Exploring James Baldwin
Throughout all that was covered in Humes this semester, I was most intrigued by James Baldwin. I was captivated throughout the entire interview between him and Nikki Giovanni, attempting to grasp everything they were asserting while feeling as if they were on another plane of communication beyond what I could understand. I was confused as to why I was so attentive throughout the interview and why was it so captivating. At first I assumed I was interested simply because of how articulate of an orator Baldwin was, but I quickly realized there was more to my fascination than just his ability to speak well, but I couldn’t pinpoint what.
I began watching and listening to more clips of Baldwin to hear more of his thoughts, theories and to listen to the manner in which he presented his ideas. I watched his debate with William F Buckley, his appearance on the Dick Cavett show, the national press club speech and Q and A, and his improvised speech at UC Berkeley. I then started reading Go Tell It on the Mountain because it would help me understand more about James Baldwin and how he portrays his early life, as the novel is autobiographical. I remembered hearing during plenary that Baldwin was considered an ambassador for African Americans by a greater white audience, and I wondered why that was. Baldwin made it clear in his speech at UC Berkeley when he said “I have proven myself civilized in every way that I can… something doesn’t work… I might as well act like a N*****” (Berkley, 18:55). Baldwin discussed the topic of whiteness, saying his life as an intellectual writer living Europe made him “whiter” and thus likely led to him being considered worthy of listening to by a white audience as an ambassador for African Americans. He later pointed out that being seen as an equal civilized human by a white audience is futile. Baldwin said “when a Americans talk about progress they talk about how fast I become white, and it’s a trick bag because they know perfectly well that I can never become white” (Berkeley, 18:30). Baldwin states that American values align with whiteness, and becoming whiter is a sign of progress that, in the eyes of a white society, can never be achieved by American Americans because they can never become fully white.
After consuming a reasonably large amount of content related to Baldwin, I understood what I found so captivating about him. His ability to be resilient in the face of ignorance, denial and racism amazed me. The ability to convey his perspective as a black man in the US and the grandson of a slave to a white audience was a difficult task and he handled it gracefully. He was a composed, talented intellectual speaker, capable of conveying an incredible complex message to a part of society that is not keen on listening.
Works Cited
“James Baldwin Berkeley 1979 – Take Your Children Out Of These Schools.” YouTube, uploaded by Jeremiah Hackley Institutes, 7 November 2019, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qcjSoakCuIk&pp=ygUZSmFtZXMgYmFsZHdpbiB1YyBiZXJrZWxleQ%3D%3D
