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washed_guapi_lee's review against another edition
5.0
This is my favorite Baldwin book. His power, insight and prescience was/is on full display here.
purplemuskogee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
5.0
The most chilling thing about this book - apart from the theme, obviously - is that it was published in 1972 and yet it could have been published in 2024 and I would not necessarily notice.
So much that is still current: James Baldwin in Paris, describing how Algerian men are victims of police violence - "I had watched the police, one sunny afternoon, beat an old, one-armed Arab peanut vendor senseless in the streets, and I had watched the unconcerned faces of the French on the café terraces, and the congested faces of the Arabs". "And in fact, Algerians were being murdered in the streets, and corralled into prisons, and being dropped in the Seine, like flies".
On 27 June 2023, a young French-Algerian boy - Nahel - was shot dead (at point-blank range) by a policeman for a traffic violation, the police initially saying they had no choice as the young boy was using his vehicle as a weapon. A video proved this was not the case and that the police had lied about the circumstances of the killing. Two fundraisers were started on GoFundMe in the following days: one to support Nahel's family - raised about €200,000 - and one to support the policeman's family, which raised over €1.6 million.
This tells you all you need to know about how sadly accurate James Baldwin's observations still are in 2024.
Before the terms systemic racism and "white racism" became mainstream, James Baldwin writes that "The powerless, by definition, can never be 'racists', for they can never make the world pay for what they feel or fear, except by the suicidal endeavor which makes them fanatics or revolutionaries, or both; whereas, those in power can be urbane and charming and invite you to those homes which they know you will never own. The powerless must do their own dirty work. The powerful have it done for them".
On landlords, and capitalism: "There is no pressure on the landlord to be responsible for the upkeep of his property: the only pressure on him is to collect his rent; that is, to bleed the ghetto. (...) Buying cheap and selling dear is what made this country great".
And finally, on police brutality and police impunity, where too often the killers are not charged, or charged much later after public outcry, and on the police working together to cover their tracks (I could not help thinking of Breonna Taylor, murdered at 26 in her own home):
"The white cop in the ghetto is as ignorant as he is frightened, and his entire concept of police work is to cow the natives. He is not compelled to answer to these natives for anything he does; whatever he does, he knows that he will be protected by his brothers, who will allow nothing to stain the honour of the force. When his working day is over, he goes home and sleeps soundly in a bed miles away from the [N word], for that is the way he really thinks of black people. And he is assured of the rightness of his course and the justice of his bigotry every time Nixon, or Agnew, or Mitchell - or the Governor of the State of California - open their mouth".
I received a free copy of his book via Netgalley; it was published in 1972.
So much that is still current: James Baldwin in Paris, describing how Algerian men are victims of police violence - "I had watched the police, one sunny afternoon, beat an old, one-armed Arab peanut vendor senseless in the streets, and I had watched the unconcerned faces of the French on the café terraces, and the congested faces of the Arabs". "And in fact, Algerians were being murdered in the streets, and corralled into prisons, and being dropped in the Seine, like flies".
On 27 June 2023, a young French-Algerian boy - Nahel - was shot dead (at point-blank range) by a policeman for a traffic violation, the police initially saying they had no choice as the young boy was using his vehicle as a weapon. A video proved this was not the case and that the police had lied about the circumstances of the killing. Two fundraisers were started on GoFundMe in the following days: one to support Nahel's family - raised about €200,000 - and one to support the policeman's family, which raised over €1.6 million.
This tells you all you need to know about how sadly accurate James Baldwin's observations still are in 2024.
Before the terms systemic racism and "white racism" became mainstream, James Baldwin writes that "The powerless, by definition, can never be 'racists', for they can never make the world pay for what they feel or fear, except by the suicidal endeavor which makes them fanatics or revolutionaries, or both; whereas, those in power can be urbane and charming and invite you to those homes which they know you will never own. The powerless must do their own dirty work. The powerful have it done for them".
On landlords, and capitalism: "There is no pressure on the landlord to be responsible for the upkeep of his property: the only pressure on him is to collect his rent; that is, to bleed the ghetto. (...) Buying cheap and selling dear is what made this country great".
And finally, on police brutality and police impunity, where too often the killers are not charged, or charged much later after public outcry, and on the police working together to cover their tracks (I could not help thinking of Breonna Taylor, murdered at 26 in her own home):
"The white cop in the ghetto is as ignorant as he is frightened, and his entire concept of police work is to cow the natives. He is not compelled to answer to these natives for anything he does; whatever he does, he knows that he will be protected by his brothers, who will allow nothing to stain the honour of the force. When his working day is over, he goes home and sleeps soundly in a bed miles away from the [N word], for that is the way he really thinks of black people. And he is assured of the rightness of his course and the justice of his bigotry every time Nixon, or Agnew, or Mitchell - or the Governor of the State of California - open their mouth".
I received a free copy of his book via Netgalley; it was published in 1972.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
mrsdoubtflyer's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Not an easy read but an important one. A cross between a memoir and a cultural critique. Nonlinear and meandering, almost stream of consciousness, but what consciousness. Provides insight into Baldwin’s early years, time abroad, and relationships to the US. The reader gets a deep sense of his ties to, often friendships with, major civil rights leaders like Martin, Malcolm, Medgar. Illuminating analysis of how mainstream US culture works to dehumanize and disappear challenges to white supremacy, whether from the Black Panthers or from flower children advocating free love. Depressingly timeless commentary on the criminal justice system, as in the system itself being criminal, and the police. Feels like being privy to Baldwin’s profound, private thoughts, as he reckons with what it means to be a witness, a friend, a truth teller, a human living in a violent, dishonest and morally compromised America.
niionatan01's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
pranaysomayajula's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
ivanarundaworld's review
Beautiful writing, but verbose. Not in the right headspace.
literary_hazelnut's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
zeldazonks's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A fascinating memoir that gives insight and context to James Baldwin's childhood, his relationship with America and his role in the civil rights movements. His writing style is just timeless and so much of what he talks about is still relevant today. Also provides interesting details of key figures in the Civil Rights movement. The events are slightly disjointed, we start with Baldwin's childhood, whizz through his time in Paris and then focus heavily on his later years, but even so a compelling read.