'I Am Not Your Negro' was recently released, and is already breaking barriers. The documentary is based on the book proposal that James Baldwin wrote, explaining his intentions to write a book about the lives of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He never wrote any further that the first 30 pages of that proposal, and this is the first time that what it entailed is coming to life. James Baldwin was a novelist, essayist, play write, social critic, and often gave essays and spoke out about racial injustice. He knew Medgar Evers, Malcom X, and Dr. King personally. During his young adulthood, Baldwin lived in Paris to escape the outrageous dehumanization happening to blacks in the U.S. He returned during the heat of the civil rights movement in order to witness and document all that was happening. This documentary was a reflection of his views about the impact of race in America.
I went to go see this documentary with my parents on Saturday, and it brought me to tears. Baldwin both expressed views and experiences that I too have felt, and analyzed their developments and purposes. Although his lectures and appearances on talk shows happened in the late 1960's what he said can be applied to the racial situation we are having in America right now. Although people may try to deny the fact that there is still racial inequality in America- the evidence is all around us. Black people are continuously killed without any justice, they are forced to live in ghettos in poverty due to economic systems created to keep them at a disadvantage, and in the eyes of the world they are still seen as 'less than'. Until American is willing to accept this fact, and accept the deep wrongs it's committed throughout it's history- nothing will ever change.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/2/11/1632768/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-The-defiant-I-Am-Not-Your-Negro
Well written!! This documentary seems very interesting. I am now interested in seeing it!
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