We support a ceasefire in Palestine.

Today would be James Baldwin’s 100th birthday. Laurie and I are in complete agreement that Baldwin was one of the finest minds we have ever encountered. Baldwin’s books (especially the nonfiction) are extraordinary; his essays are stellar, and his quotations are everywhere … for a reason.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

I hadn’t encountered the clip above about seeing color until this morning. Like most of Baldwin’s writing and speaking, it is clear, unambiguous, and unflinching. The clip doesn’t show the reaction of the white professor asking the question–so I get to imagine that it left him speechless.

“Everybody’s journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality.”

If you’re not familiar with Baldwin as a thinker and a writer, the clip above will get you started, Googling will give you a great deal, and reading his books will give you more. But if you want to read thoughtful prose about him and his impact, try Begin Again by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., a leading Baldwin scholar. And if you prefer documentaries for your information, I Am Not Your Negro is the place to go.

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.”

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Quotations above in order are from: No Name in the Street, Conversations with James Baldwin, and a 1963 interview with Life Magazine

Debbie has deleted her Twitter account. Follow her on Mastodon.

Follow Laurie’s Pandemic Shadows photos on Instagram.

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