As a gay and black young man, Baldwin knew he had to leave the country he loved and spent much of his life outside the U.S. Many of our young and brilliant thinkers of this era might make a similar choice if opportunities and liberties disappear.
Is this Aluna from the Principles First summit this year? If so, I sat next to you and had some wonderful conversations with you. Reed, I am sorry I missed meeting you there. Blessings and Peace to us all. Susan Sommer, Weston, VT
Thank you, Reed. Very well-written take on Baldwin's moral & intellectual clarity - his work speaks as strongly today as ever. I think it's important to recognize Baldwin's fortitude in raising issues around sexuality as well. I was an infant when he wrote Giovanni's Room. Reading that decades later along with his other works & interviews, I always think: my god, that man has strength of character! In that era & through the '60s, homosexuality was generally seen as a crime, mental illness, fatal character defect, mortal sin (in whatever combination). The reach of Baldwin's voice promoting civil rights was at least a little diminished because of some listeners' reactions to him - their distaste for Baldwin as messenger because of who he was. That was, of course, not just THEIR loss. To the extent that judgments & prejudices about homosexuality motivated some to keep him at a distance, the progress of American society in recognizing human rights was affected.
Over his career of leadership, Martin Luther King's message of justice expanded - not just around racial equality but extending to economics, peace, and a broad range of social issues. At the heart, civil rights are about human dignity. James Baldwin offers an eloquent voice directly from that heart. It's still beating. Never too late for us to listen.
Faith in action. I have faith in our Declaration of Independence, in our Constitution, and in our rule of law. I will never back down in all efforts to support and defend our constitutional republic and to secure the blessings of liberty for our posterity.
As a gay and black young man, Baldwin knew he had to leave the country he loved and spent much of his life outside the U.S. Many of our young and brilliant thinkers of this era might make a similar choice if opportunities and liberties disappear.
Thank you, Reed! This is fantastic!!
Is this Aluna from the Principles First summit this year? If so, I sat next to you and had some wonderful conversations with you. Reed, I am sorry I missed meeting you there. Blessings and Peace to us all. Susan Sommer, Weston, VT
My substack: https://susansommer.substack.com/
Thank you, Reed. Very well-written take on Baldwin's moral & intellectual clarity - his work speaks as strongly today as ever. I think it's important to recognize Baldwin's fortitude in raising issues around sexuality as well. I was an infant when he wrote Giovanni's Room. Reading that decades later along with his other works & interviews, I always think: my god, that man has strength of character! In that era & through the '60s, homosexuality was generally seen as a crime, mental illness, fatal character defect, mortal sin (in whatever combination). The reach of Baldwin's voice promoting civil rights was at least a little diminished because of some listeners' reactions to him - their distaste for Baldwin as messenger because of who he was. That was, of course, not just THEIR loss. To the extent that judgments & prejudices about homosexuality motivated some to keep him at a distance, the progress of American society in recognizing human rights was affected.
Over his career of leadership, Martin Luther King's message of justice expanded - not just around racial equality but extending to economics, peace, and a broad range of social issues. At the heart, civil rights are about human dignity. James Baldwin offers an eloquent voice directly from that heart. It's still beating. Never too late for us to listen.
Faith in action. I have faith in our Declaration of Independence, in our Constitution, and in our rule of law. I will never back down in all efforts to support and defend our constitutional republic and to secure the blessings of liberty for our posterity.