Civil Rights | James Baldwin Interview | Mavis on Four

Mavis Nicholson speaks exclusively to American Civil rights activist and renown Playwright novelist, essayist, poet, and social critic James Baldwin.
First shown: 02/12/1987
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Quote: VT38902

[@Stairwayto-7]

I'm a 47 year old white man who had not heard of this brilliant man until a few days ago. THAT, is a shame! Ever since then I've fully immersed myself into watching videos of his speeches and lectures and listened to an audio book someone posted here on KZbin. The book is "The Fire Next Time." Mr. Baldwin is absolutely brilliant and prophetic in his wisdom. Such a huge loss for mankind when he passed away.

[@SC-uq2jf]

SO GLAD THAT YOU FOLLOW THE OLD ADAGE " WE ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN". PLEASE WATCH THE POST- MARCH ON WASHINGTON 1963 INTERVIEW WITH THE INIMITABLE JAMES BALDWIN, HARRY BELAFONTE, MARLON BRANDO, CHARLETON HESTON, OTHERS. IT IS LESS THAN 14 MINS. I BELIEVE. YOU WILL NEVER FORGET IT.

[@Stairwayto-7]

Actually, I've watched that as well. It was great to see that some Hollywood legends were speaking up!

[@bereketdesta2593]

It's shame the French gave him shelter. His intellectual honesty is raceless.

[@angelocaudle93]

I’m so happy, the fact that you can learn and grow from the experience of another.. please share.

[@jayscribe7547]

Its a shame that you had never heard of him until you were in your late 40s but I'm glad you finally discovered him

[@ThePhobiaCrew]

"i was terrified not because I was black but because I was despised."

[@keithklassen5320]

It consistently astounds me how quickly he could seize upon those differences in how a thing is stated that cut to the core of different viewpoints. At first it almost seemed to me that he was being obtuse, misunderstanding her, but it was a crucial difference and needed to be delineated clearly.

[@thumbprint7150]

Yes, James Baldwin caught that mistake on the part of the interviewer very quickly. She was good as an interviewer but he really listened to words carefully and let nothing get past him.

[@SuperVendetta9]

@@keithklassen5320 , the interviewer was obtuse and carefully clinging on to denial.

[@arricammarques1955]

Quite a universal attribute.

[@aliabdualgadir286]

Nice quote is been said in his speech

[@GaganSingh-xs7ij]

“He had to become a saint in order to become a man”.. “To remove himself from the world’s absolutely merciless judgement” Damn! 😢

[@troymcclain6007]

"We have yet to understand that if I am starving you are in danger"~Classic

[@lindabohanna8663]

Troy, this is my opinion,he's saying,if a black man like him stave,then poor white ppl is not safe ether!

[@rickyrob3843]

@@lindabohanna8663 ..it is certainly open for more than one interpretation.. ..for me, it means: "those who do 'ave had bett'r be-ware of those who 'ave not"..

[@vangardner7316]

Tupac said something similar to this. Him starving looking through a window and white people eating. He's knocking and asking for food, they ignore him as they throw most in the trash. This goes on for several days with the same outcome. Eventually he's kicking the door down and the starving are eating the greedy. It's at the end of the Kendricks Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly album.

[@michellebyrd9017]

@@rickyrob3843 your interpretation is correct

[@lifestraight]

@@lindabohanna8663 Ricky Rob is correct. If I am deprived and lacking then I am going to take from those who are well off amd provided for.

[@Rick-fe8xn]

I love how he explained racism as cowardice, I never thought about it that way

[@theothertonydutch]

Every horrible thing a human is capable is fueled by fear, even if it is justified.

[@Rick-fe8xn]

@@theothertonydutch history is full of examples

[@yieldsigns]

I thought even more interesting was that part where he said it has to do with people's inability to forgive others for wrongs they have done to them. I don't know if I've ever heard that concept before. Forgiving someone for a wound you gave to them.

[@WelshBathBoy]

I miss quiet interviews like this, where the interviewer allows the interviewee to speak

[@shadrackchabedi3447]

I miss more interviews where the interviewee knew how to speak.

[@frednkoyi6851]

Yes indeed, she's conducting this interview like a conversation between 2 friends...

[@tonykimari1119]

Today, they call it hard talk

[@maxinefowler1186]

Because we black people are blocked. I have written about growing jup in a kkk state. I have written a book, no one will touch it.

[@ca6177]

Me too!

[@gatheringleaves]

James Baldwin was a genius!

[@scottash351]

+Infinite Sky It says a lot about you to recognize this....

[@carmenhorn1620]

jojokintel his intellect was higher than all racist scum combined

[@nakadai4444]

Agree yes, he was....

[@heatherhamilton9777]

EVERYTHING he spoke about is still relevant today. Brilliant man. Mankind and History was blessed to have him. I wish we would accept and practice his wisdom.

[@gregruelas7830]

I love listening to him. He's so soothingly eloquent.

[@yjadalyn1]

Beautiful

[@cardion411]

So much so.

[@coreycox2345]

I was also thinking eloquent. Words that hit you and knock you over. Damn.

[@kevinmatherest8519]

i dont like him ,his words are foolish

[@gregruelas7830]

@station4hiphop I don't believe James was British. He was an American that spent a great deal of time in France. I find his impressive vernacular and poetic sense of description incredible. Mixed with a dialect that suggests a well read soul and the need to command respect from the racist white men, it's hypnotic to me. It's a voice of a weather-beaten heart that dares not relinquish its soul. Sorry I took so long to respond.

[@ruby-qv5bd]

I am a 61 year old white woman and I just heard of this man today July of 2021. I just purchased the first book I will be reading of his and hopefully many more. What a beautiful soul and a gift to the world.

[@Daewonnni]

"We are not talking about racial prejudices, we are talking about the structure of power."

[@JPX7NGD]

and he knows by now what consuming yourself with small thoughts like those of "power" gets you: nothing.

[@louise-yo7kz]

Yes.

[@robertdore9592]

Expressed and enforced through racial bias, in order to better understand that fact it helps if you're a person of colour.

[@normbatchelor7403]

Was Apartheid/Jim Crow a structure of power? Or state sponsored oppression?

[@normbatchelor7403]

thomas boffman Explain?

[@Ltscoobydoo]

"We have yet to understand that if I am starving, you are in danger. When people think that my danger makes them safe...they are in trouble." What a beautiful explanation of the interconnectedness of beings. My well-being is contingent on yours. Your well-being is contingent on mine.

[@davidpowell6418]

In 1965 (I was 17 at the time), I had probably the most important "wake up" moment of my life regarding my vocation as an artist. This was my discovery of Baldwin's 1962 essay "The Creative Process" in an anthology titled "Creative America" in the public library of my Arkansas hometown. Not only this. Baldwin alone (as I look back on it) was primarily responsible for giving me through what he wrote in "The Creative Process" the support to continue as an artist as no other has ever done. In short, I owe quite a lot of my life as an artist to Baldwin ... and it makes me very glad when I read through the below comments. "The Creative Process" begins with the lines: "Perhaps the primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid: the state of being alone. That all men ARE, when the chips are down, alone, is a banality - a banality because it is very frequently stated, but very rarely, on the evidence, believed. Most of us are not compelled to linger with the knowledge of our aloneness, for it is a knowledge which can paralyze all action in the world. There are, forever, swamps to be drained, cities to be created, mines to be exploited, children to be fed: and none of these things can be done alone. But the conquest of the physical world is not man's only duty. He is also enjoined to conquer the great wilderness of himself. The role of the artist, then, precisely, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest; so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place. // The state of being alone is not meant to bring to mind merely a rustic musing beside some silver lake. The aloneness of which I speak is much more like the aloneness of birth or death. It is like the fearful aloneness one sees in the eyes of someone who is suffering, whom we cannot help. Or it is like the aloneness of love, that force and mystery which so many have extolled and so many have cursed, but which no one has ever understood or ever really been able to control. I put the matter this way, not out of any desire to create pity for the artist - God forbid! - but to suggest how nearly, after all, is his state the state of everyone, and in an attempt to make vivid his endeavor. The states of birth, suffering, love and death are extreme states: extreme, universal and inescapable. We all know this, but we would rather not know it. The artist is present to correct the delusions to which we fall prey in our attempts to avoid this knowledge. // It is for this reason that all societies have battled with that incorrigible disturber of the peace - the artist. I doubt that future societies will get on with him any better. The entire purpose of society is to create a bulwark against the inner and the outer chaos, literally, in order to make life bearable and to keep the human race alive. And it is absolutely inevitable that when a tradition has been evolved, whatever the tradition is, that the people, in general, will suppose it to have existed from before the beginning of time and will be most unwilling and indeed unable to conceive any changes in it. They do not know how they will live without those traditions which have given them their identity. Their reaction, when they can or that they must, is panic. And we see this panic everywhere in the world today [...] And a higher level of consciousness is the only hope we have, now or in the future, of minimizing the human damage."

[@TheLoloCynthiaShow]

Incredible

[@davidpowell6418]

@@TheLoloCynthiaShow ... and here's a site I just last night discovered with Baldwin prominently featured on its front page thoughtmaybe.com

[@stuartpoyser6678]

And two years on, I've learned about it from you, David (having been in love with these interviews with him). Thank you. Pass it on boys. Pass the parcel...

[@ryand141]

That is some powerful writing right there. Thank you. I must read one of these books.

[@MrJkgrove]

I have studied a lot of Baldwin’s critique but not his views on being an artist, but this makes so much sense! Thank you for sharing! While I’m not an artist in the traditional sense, as an educator I have always pushed myself internally as well as in my efforts to connect with and open doors for my audience in a way that resonates with his description. More than anything, I love Baldwin’s uncompromising dedication to love for one another - even and especially when it hurts. May we all be so courageous. ❤ In case anyone wants the full text of The Creative Process, it is here: openspaceofdemocracy.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/baldwin-creative-process.pdf

[@regina6953]

I'm compelled to read everything that Baldwin has ever written. His level of consciousness is/was so powerful it's infectious.

[@Clues2]

All of his stuff is amazing!

[@Tom_Tom_Klondike]

Me too! Let's do it Regina!

[@jojokintel]

Yeah I heard that he got the spook of the year award!

[@karimtabrizi376]

Good idea

[@Nebuchadnezzar89]

@rxp56 true, infectious doesn't necessarily mean good or correct, but in this instance that is the exact reason Mr. Baldwin is infectious. Everything he says rings good and true on a deep level. I'm afraid that if you don't feel that there may be something wrong.

[@OurFantasyLife]

"I was invisible in France, and that was what I needed."

[@777morgan3]

thats why so many jazz musicians and artist move to france, denmark, etc

[@frednkoyi6851]

Classic!

[@Suleymanakaalp4787]

Why not Britain though I wonder

[@JaySpoonn]

I want people to really home in on this statement. 2021, and we are still plagued with this. I felt this way, and I don't know a racist person. I know how I'm viewed, and I see how I'm portrayed even before I open my mouth. I listen, and look at Mr. Baldwin, and his struggles resonate through me because even now in 2021 there is someone who deeply feels that sentence.

[@riaa8689]

@@Suleymanakaalp4787 You know whats funny, I recently just read a wiki page that illustrates that nearly all presidents, except one, are all decendants of a common ancestor-- some first century King of Britain. Including Barak Obama, they're all distant cousins its crazy.

[@annalisa14]

Every child over 12 needs to read Baldwin’s books and hear him speak, and write an essay about him every year in school.

[@markharrisllb]

If I had a dinner party where I could invite anyone living or dead the first guest would James Baldwin.

[@Lollii_Popp]

Can i come just to sit at the kiddie table?🙇🏿‍♀️

[@brettshepherd5240]

No doubt

[@lisahileman6727]

Absolutely!

[@MikeBTek]

Yes, Baldwin would be a very good choice indeed, however I would choose Jesus Christ first. I think Baldwin would enjoy speaking directly with him also.

[@shaft8779]

Mark Harris, U can still do it! Just think how many people like there are out there? We seem to miss them all the time.

[@ambrasargentini2359]

He's one of the finest intellectuals ever, very profound, intelligent, lovingly, so much to be learned from him!!

[@leel2101]

Ambra Sargentini yes indeed.. wise and powerful prophet

[@keidronmiller7273]

So true..

[@abe8435]

rockster10101 Such a strange thing to say. When I read or hear him I cannot believe he was talking about times that have passed decades ago

[@abe8435]

rockster10101 Self-limiting? Have you read Baldwin? He rebelled against socially imposed limitations, never his own. His explorations of love, religion, morality, masculinity, social isolation, the fear of mortality and what it means to be human in spite of all this are timeless, and he could assuredly bend the year of a Roman tribune or Romance poet if given the opportunity. To say that his writing is “ethnocentric” is only to say that his work is personal and not content-less. Chaucer was “ethnocentric” as well, as was James Joyce or Henry James etc.

[@victoriagore470]

@rockster10101 centuries from now unfortunately, it will be a culture thats oppressed, and I promise his words will resonate.

[@mdames00]

"If I'm starving you are in danger...if people think that my danger makes them safe, they're in trouble." "Terror can have one of two effects.....Don't run away from it, there's nowhere to run, instead walk towards it so at least you know what hit you." - Brilliant and eloquently put -

[@maarifawalcott5145]

I’m 39 years old, and only just started listening to Baldwin 😩. He’s such a treasure.

[@DaYungSinChrg]

I've never heard my own personal thoughts spoken so poetically, until now.

[@unowen334]

+Tom Wavy Maybe because you're a publicly educated idiot that can't express himself.

[@DaYungSinChrg]

+UN Owen You feel better about yourself?

[@cardion411]

+Tom Wavy That's Baldwin. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

[@DaYungSinChrg]

+Cardion Don Definitely is. can listen to him speak all day.

[@KidDroskii]

+Tom Wavy That's how I felt when I first discovered him on here. It's a shame he's obscured.

[@gaylewilliams4805]

This man is a very intelligent, very reflective, very articulate man.

[@berthabridges3483]

James Balwin was so influential on so many levels. His book, "If Beale Street could talked." Changed my life, many years ago I read it out of curiosity. Coming from a conservative Christian background it was a game changer. He takes the reader into the life of his characters so skillfully you can relate in a way impossible before. He's one of the greatest civil rights figures in American modern history. I have definitely been influenced by him in my thinking. Elegant man. RIP 🕊

[@uglywednesday]

22 now and i have never felt so connected to someone and so eager to try to accomplish and improve myself as a man James was just amazing

[@Toni-id2pv]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💕💕💕

[@Project5am]

Interviewer: you had terror because you were black JB: The terror was not about because I was black it was because I was despised

[@themfingmfer]

The interviewer was distressingly stupid.

[@28noble]

I could just sit and listen to him all day and all night.

[@jayscribe7547]

yup

[@adarsh7914]

Someone who could see clear when the world was blind

[@RK-so3bk]

I can never get enough of this man. He will be missed but not forgotten.

[@rachellefields6064]

He and Eartha Kitt I could listen to all day. Love these rare accents.

[@sarahreid8801]

Any body listening 2021? Such a brilliant philosopher, writer, humanitarian 💗

[@FreshTake01]

I love when Mr. Baldwin elaborates and presents wonderful analogies not only to enlighten the mind but to stir the heart.

[@t.t.t.4732]

This man is so intensely Brilliant it’s scary! To say the things he says without hesitation is incredible and inspirational!

[@mrluvit8232]

fully agree!!! 💯

[@larodericks5283]

Dear James Baldwin, Your messages are so powerful that it resonates with me enough to stop what I’m doing in the middle of my day, and to type this up to show my appreciation. You are the most brilliant, fearless man that ranks up at the top of the chart for me! My goals in life is to amount equally, or even half of you. I do not cherish the fiat money that comes and goes but I do cherish information and knowledge, that can bring us back together. Rest In Peace brother, for you will not be forgotten but remembered and cherished over infinite years, until the last baby is born! Sincerely written by: Laroderick Scott

[@katejacobs5491]

Light on Scott Beautiful post, eloquent, thank you

[@deenad3562]

Cheers!

[@cartergomez5390]

I just heard about James Baldwin today because I looked up black-owned businesses near me and discovered a really cool one downtown called Broccoli and they sell an 8.5 x 11 canvas print of James Baldwin so I wanted to know who he was and here I am. I am watching a bunch of videos on him and once I get the print, I will know exactly who he is for when someone asks me. There is no reason why he shouldn't be known to the general public. So like, share, and spread the word among friends about this amazing person!

[@zukiswawanner5330]

This was a beautiful comment, Laroderick. I felt it in so many ways

[@shaunaodiea6184]

You can't learn the beauty that is humility if you aren't able to love anyone. This man is an absolute genius!

[@Bigboi0330]

Theres one question that she asked that exemplifies white americans today. She asked: "You were terrified because you were black?" and of course Baldwin answers "I was terrified because i was despised" This right here is exactly why we are not a post racial country. Of course I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir at this point. She can't wrap her head around the fact that there is nothing wrong with being black. of course if you said that to her she would deny it but it shows in the way she even decides to ask the question in the first place. We are a color illiterate society that doesn't seem to even try and coup with reality or history.

[@clept12]

+James Robinson very well said

[@NimlotArt]

+James Robinson True. And you're not preaching..except the truth....you're just pointing out the fact of the matter. white americans cannot put themselves in the shoes of black americans. Most of them aren't willing to try. I'm white and I know even if I'm absolutely in the corner of the black americans, that I will NEVER be able to put myself fully in the black american shoes.

[@channel614]

1 of the most ignorant questions she's asked him. He can not answer a queation like this when it pertains to all black people. It's like she wanted him to put a thought that she's had about us as a people to rest so she can sleep at night. He answered every question flawlessly!

[@aryehbenyehudah9965]

James Robinson Black has no standing at law and white is a status not a race.

[@jayscribe7547]

He is so much smarter than her, she cant wrap her head around his brilliance. That is evident in the whole interview.

[@mahryajefferson7100]

His voice is so soothing..

[@debbieharvey535]

When I was 40 something.....I was at the library when I found ~ The price of the ticket...collected nonfiction 1948-1985...James Baldwin....690 pages of sheer genius.....for sale on a cart for 50 cents....this book is my favorite possession. Baldwin is my Hero. He is simply impeccable!

[@lifestraight]

I wonder if I would be able to find it.

[@chadwickwatkins6272]

I love the way Jame Baldwin saw the word. How he was able to articulate the pulse of race and ethnic identity - in all of its complexities.

[@black12212]

Mr. Baldwin. This guy was as smooth as Silk ! Forever Missed King ✊🏾

[@martinharris7339]

Wonderful interview. Sensitive and intelligent questions. And of course, Baldwin was brilliant.

[@Jide-mx3wm]

He looked like he'd seen and felt too much.

[@mdogzino]

he had sadly.

[@user-vm9oj4fd1p]

But he also somehow looks peaceful and happy.... I love when he smiles

[@stephenrider9027]

What does that even mean?? He was a man who strove to be human. Maybe we should all try it sometime. He lived life more than most us ever will.

[@deloreanheyward5816]

Most def!💋

[@stephenrider9027]

Carla Denes I’m happen to be black. Lol. So sad that it becomes so personal so fast. I wish you the best. You clearly don’t get what I’m saying in context. And I don’t need to explain myself. What I said was very clear. But I can give you some advice: 1) Next time don’t assume the color of a persons skin tone. 2) Debate the point. 3) The moment you make it personal is the moment you loss. 4) It’s just never that serious. This is just KZbin. Are comments aren’t changing the world. We all have the right to have our own perspectives. Peace and blessings. 🙏🏾

[@kj_H65f]

Wow. Such power in his voice.

[@antoniebrady2647]

I am just discovering James Baldwin and I find that I am unable to tear myself away.

[@robhallifax2730]

Me too. Just discovered him a week ago. Watching documentaries on netflix. We need another James Baldwin now.

[@staciabelcher28]

Baldwin will always be with us ! I love him in this life and the next!

[@Handle_This_365]

"racial prejudice is the most abject cowardice" holy shit

[@robsuggs807]

Some serious jewels dropped in this interview.... Bless..

[@MrSpectralfire]

Every time I watch a James Baldwin interview it seems like the interviewer doesn't understand him. They seem to want to lead the conversation in a certain way and Baldwin has something better to say than they wanted to hear.

[@aryehbenyehudah9965]

An extremely brilliant brother ❤The Noble James Baldwin❤☥❤

[@bajanfan0260]

I love James Baldwin. He's the most interesting man I never met. I read constantly, but this kind of wit doesn't come from reading books. Ya either have it, or ya don't. It's a blessing from God, and Mr. Baldwin definitely had it. (sigh) I'll keep trying.

[@stephenrider9027]

It’s not wit. It’s a man that looked at life and walked into areas that most people refuse to go. He was on a journey to reconcile who he thought he was with he truly was. And those two are at a variance of each other.

[@mademoisellecalixte339]

😁 too funny.

[@jayscribe7547]

Bajanfan02 intuitive knowledge

[@kittykat3052]

@@michaeljotoyajackson7294 Thank You For Your Very True Comment 💗🙏 🙏💗 Peace and Love to All People 💗🌷☺ and You Have a Great Day Michael JoToya Jackson From Katherine in Chicago on Saturday December 8 ,2018 at 11:49am 💗🙏☺🌷

[@Blackufi]

Rather, the knowledge and insight that comes from his mouth is born from struggle. Cultivate the courage to struggle and you will know...

[@laconja1]

He is Brilliant !! After what happened on Monday May 25th in Minneapolis to George Floyd I find I need to hear James Baldwin’s Words. Nothing much has changed since he died. 😭😭😭

[@topboxing4764]

I prefer to think that nothing much has changed since he Lived!

[@williamjackson5357]

Paul Gotti, I agree with you 100%

[@abstractina2]

Paul Gotti I believe the hatred was more of something that was passed down to keep any whites from sympathizing with blacks and their mistreatments. If you went against black slavery then you were considered a traitor and could be killed for it.

[@rknissel]

As I've seen in previous comments, I just came across Mr. Baldwins videos, I am watching any I can find, I can listen to him speak for hours, I think back to what I was forced to learn in school and am amazed at the fact it was fairly worthless, That there were far more important people that could have opened my eyes and mind to so much more.......

[@nothing2aG]

Man. This is the deepest video I have ever watched.

[@NimlotArt]

+nothing2aG Insightful. A jolly nice chap!

[@Pat52786]

absolutely

[@hollyfavored924]

Yessss

[@outcast4851]

@@jojokintel you are sick

[@marydobbin8812]

I really love hearing his voice ... such wisdom.

[@dahalofreeek]

His writing and speaking is breathtaking, literally at times.

[@jojokintel]

He is a true genius. No, actually he is a middling spook writer who is obsessed with sex, just like every one of you spooks.

[@themfingmfer]

jojokintel You are obviously a failure in life as you cannot even master trolling. 😂 Really, you sound like a petulant, insecure child. Quite frankly, it’s extremely amusing. At least you recognize that you are beneath us.

[@jamaalwicks]

"We've yet to understand that if I'm starving, you're in danger."

[@ZartanXL]

I usually wouldn't go there but I must. That's mostly a white thing. People of color would give you their last. At least in the past. All that's off the table these days.

[@zorazorazorzzora8333]

@@ZartanXL Got your point But I think he’s going deeper with that comment…. Like on a meta- level… in a more collective sense ….. not one on one, if you’re hungry here’s some food you not leaving here hungry … and I do agree we’ve lost that… we’re too busy trying to imitate other folks

[@ZartanXL]

@@zorazorazorzzora8333, im going to agree with you. Im not understanding my own post. Im 46, grew up in the hoods of BK NY in the 80, if we robbed someone, it was because we needed it. I totally understand the hunger comment? Who i was talking to has me puzzled, maybe im totally going crazy.

[@afterthestorm9355]

He’s brilliant and I listen to him over and over again.

[@jacpratt8608]

there is always a new deeper understanding possible and I find I understand some little thing a little bit better. (even if I forget for a while)

[@afterthestorm9355]

@@jacpratt8608 exactly, yes!

[@pronatewithnate]

“i think the hardest thing for any human being to do is to forgive somebody they know they’ve wronged”

[@bolder2009]

I don't I've ever considered this line of thought 🤔

[@amphymixis]

Doesn't get much better than this.

[@georgecorrea8530]

James Baldwin was a towering intellectual and a brilliant man. He is sorely missed.

[@jayscribe7547]

So brilliant! "We have yet to understand that If I'm starving, you're in danger.." I wish he were here today

[@JomoDaMusicMan]

James Baldwin and Roscoe Lee Browne looks and sounds a lot alike. James Baldwin was way before his time, we need civic leaders and celebrities to speak out, with his convictions and sincerity. It's really not funny, but the truth that he spoke then, is very reverent today. Amazingly, we blacks, have exactly the same problem that we had in the 1960's, NO RESPECT, NO POWER, NO MONEY, NO JUSTICE AND NO EQUALITY.

[@princesssilverblood]

and when read his quotes ..".Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." and this one resonates what u just said... "People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them."

[@jacpratt8608]

brilliant. he is so insightful. incisive.

[@davidbarr3747]

This man's Brilliance was Blinding. Thank God he preached, and wrote, and bravely spoke out, and wisely counseled, so we have irrefutable Proof that a selfless man with his courage and intellect actually existed during the miasma of the 1950s-80s. Bravo Jimmy Baldwin! 👏🏽👏🏽Bravo.👍🏾

[@joegeorge5940]

I loved the way he talked. Very smart man. Great writer.

[@dwhite8997]

"God gave Noah the rainbow sign... no more water... THE FIRE NEXT TIME!" James Baldwin ♥

[@carmenhorn1620]

D White I posted that too, before I noticed that you also did.

[@19kilo91]

Hiding in the pulpit! Truer words have never been spoken.

[@katafoocat1938]

Truly, a man ahead of his times. This brother speaks of his pain as a black man growing up in America with such honesty as well as anguish. No wonder he decided to move to France, where a least he was recognized as a man...... a man of intellect and brilliance.

[@lovingatlanta]

👍Loved watching this interview. I wish he was still alive.😔💞

[@cardion411]

Thank you so much for this video. I often come back to many of his videos just to watch again. Just to soak in so much of that wisdom. Just to understand, just a little bit more, the brilliance that is James Baldwin.

[@jayscribe7547]

me too

[@ej1722]

I need to learn more about this man & many other POWERFUL Black people✊

[@stephr1742]

When I listen to James Baldwin, my mind and heart soothe. I am so saddened that he isn't around...

[@sbill001]

Small in stature so many things going against him or frowned upon but this man was steel...and wouldn't bend. He's an intellect rarely celebrated, heart of a lion.

[@jeremyreagan9085]

James Baldwin is our Prophet Jeremiah a weeping Prophet in a dying land and people. I am glad to have heard of him.

[@stephenrider9027]

Jeremy Reagan let’s not compare him to the Bible. He was not just the black communities hope. He was our countries hope.

[@shannylafrance311]

I felt that! Powerful description!

[@tonimactavish9937]

I admire this man with all my heart. I do wish he was still living. We need more people like him in this world. Probably the most intelligent man I have ever listened to.

[@ThatOneGuy-dc3xq]

17:20 and ongot me. "I can't afford despair" and "we can't tell the children there's no hope" both made me tear up. Especially because of the message and the delivery which was so genuine 😌

[@aarondigby5054]

Malcolm X said James Baldwin is the only person that caused him to bite his lip to keep from cursing during a debate.

[@chriswhiteiii]

1:10 "...Well, she takes on faith as a way of avoiding something else. Many people do that. Um, perhaps most people do that, in order to avoid confronting, love. And love involves the terrors of life. And that involves the terrors of death. And faith is, for many people, a kind of hiding place, in which you won't be hurt, in which you won't have to think about yourself, in which you won't have to change, and in which you haven't got to be responsible for your neighbor."

[@cardion411]

My my my.

[@ujenajackson6874]

That's not Faith, that's "Denial". Denial about love, the conditions, responsibility of others. Faith is hope! Yes, an escape but to a higher plain, on which I myself hope that love will conquer all. I understand how it can be associated with Denial, but we must not confuse the two. Denial is dark, and that's what we face daily, Faith is light, and helps me to believe that the heart of man is good, but also is capable of doing evil. That's Faith, That's Religion. When we figure that out, we may not be able to change things, people, society, America, but we will be able to change ourselves, program our minds to love, and THAT "LOVE" changes things. One must change themselves, their mind, their thinking, their love, address their Denial, replace that with TRUE FAITH and LOVE, and we shall be liberated.

[@chriswhiteiii]

2:17 "...as I began to become aware and to learn more and more about my congregations and how little that I could really console them,...and I was learning more and about myself, and I began to see, in a sense, I was hiding in the pulpit...and if I kept on doing that I would have become a liar, lie to my congregations, lie to myself...and whatever possibility of faith and love that might be in my life would have been destroyed, so I left..."

[@chriswhiteiii]

Thx for the stimulus to quiet down and hear more of this, Ujena Jackson.

[@ujenajackson6874]

Just trying to spread the word...So many people, and even myself, have gotten Denial and faith mixed up. Yes they both are an escape, but Denial is an escape because of fear... And faith because of hope! The two are very different and evoke different personalities, actions, and responses. We as a race, today, need to realize that, and build off of what our ancestors started. The civil rights movement was an act of faith, in our own race... That we "shall overcome"...But I myself believe in the human race that we shall overcome. Because it's bigger than black and white... Latino, Chinese...etc! It's Good versus Evil, that we are fighting, and that battle is first individual!

[@shirley9008]

Such a Gracious and Eloquent man. He is greatly missed. R.I.E.P 🌺🙌🏾🙏🏾

[@malcolmneate5852]

Every time you hear James Baldwin it is a treasure.

[@johnbradbury4000]

I have read some of James' work. He knows how to use simple words with devastating effect. He was Magnificent. May He rest in peace.

[@aarondigby5054]

He gets his point across brilliantly.

[@justnickey9590]

Please forgive my ignorance & uneducated mentality. But, I've never heard of James Baldwin. As I listen/view his videos, this man was wise and knowledgeable! I'll have to learn more about him.

[@brotherhtl4860]

Nickey Venney pleas learn about him. His work is on point

[@cardion411]

Please go so see I Am Not Your Negro if you have not already.

[@kevinm8865]

Malcolm X talked about him; even had at least one debate with him. I never thought much about Baldwin but I plan to now!

[@BradyPostma]

@@kevinm8865 - Ooo, I gotta see that debate!

[@kevinm8865]

@@BradyPostma I couldn't find it at first but here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYexh5VtqLCqpbc Really good discussion between everyone.

[@kelvintorrence5994]

man we had great speakers and leaders,rest in power 2 all who helped us,

[@cornsail]

How had I not heard of this guy? So many interesting insights in such a short interview.

[@s.wright6945]

I cannot get enough of James Baldwin! 🖤🙏🏼

[@channelfogg6629]

Baldwin was so wise and so compassionate it is sometimes painful to hear him.

[@goatuscrow4135]

This opens my eyes to subject(s) I thought I knew already.

[@Mocha69A]

James Baldwin was a very insightful man. Very deep and sharp as a knife

[@alannalewis1999]

James Baldwin is one of the best writers of fiction and non fiction that ever lived. I have read his entire body of work.R. I.P. Janes Baldwin 🙏🏼🌹❣️🌹

[@lifestraight]

3:02 "I was very proud and difficult to handle. I too was a 'bad nigger', until today let's face it: in the western world for the most part a FREE Black cat is looked on as a 'bad nigger' and he's in danger." Poignant truth-telling. That quote resonates with me and is still relevant today.

[@andreagulevska1262]

What a remarkable human being, intellectual, erudite individual, who conducted interviews, debates, polemics with such passion and sophistication.

[@bernlin2000]

He voice and delivery is poetry in and of itself, pretty remarkable.

[@sophiadavid1097]

2020,i cant stop. Legend with wisdom 👌👏👏❤💋💋

[@incognito3743]

"if I am starving, you are in danger." True then, true now.

[@ince55ant]

"We have yet to understand, that if I am starving, you are in danger."

[@505853]

Brilliant interview!

[@scottash351]

+505853 Agreed!

[@unowen334]

+505853 Of all the Baldwins, including Alec, he is my grooviest nigga.

[@GWozzie3]

505853 A brilliant interview by Mr Baldwin, but not a brilliant interviewer, I would suggest. She felt detached to me throughout much of it. Gx

[@patriciaodonnell1929]

James Baldwin is an incredible voice...

[@bossdeman]

He was so ahead of his time... He died a few months after this interview... May he always rest in peace.

[@nakadai4444]

What an incredible Man, easy talking, Polite, Clever and Brilliant, I M brazilian, I di not Know him, I just saw him by this video, yesterday, what a great, and happy surprise knowing someone so Brilliant...

[@lifestraight]

6:49 " 'Images down in the valley where I couldn't hear nobody pray'. That's also where you find the strength or whatever it is, the grace, to move from that desolation."

[@zorazorazorzzora8333]

Yes yes ….. I had to listen to that several times

[@keithmoore1518]

James Baldwin....a truth serum. We hide so much today, one big facade. This is refreshing. Interesting how James turns to Bessie Smith's blues, as Ralph Ellison references Louis Armstrong's blues in "invisible man." Recorded despair aiding writers aiding the world.

[@trenesiar]

Until today, New Year's Eve 2017, James has been my Mona Lisa. I've always peered into his bulging eyes listening to the words only he could speak so eloquently... Now that we've been introduced, like Maya Angelou, I could listen to him all day just gleaning from his confidence, wisdoms and truths.. How prophetic of him to say then what still applies in 2017 and that is this country is morally bankrupt, which has led to financial bankruptcy. We all must move beyond our crippling habits and do our part to clean up this mess.

[@martinstepetin1167]

Wish I would have learned of this man sooner.

[@Ronnie86753]

He is truly amazing!!!. She .....just “uh huh” or “hmmm’ed” her way through like she didn’t always get it