Being spat upon, verbally assaulted and most importantly, unprotected, motivated James to leave France (he would live abroad to get away from America) and return to the states. Some say the turning point in Baldwin’s career was the image of Dorothy Counts walking to school as one of the first Black children to integrate Harding High School. But as time wore on, so did the effects of racism and the burgeoning weight it bestows on its victims. Anger yes, defense yes, but still, love your enemy.
In the battle against racism, he notes, violence is inevitable and often times expected but, don’t strike with hate, blows shouldn’t be delivered with a malevolent conscious. Throughout his career, Baldwin was enamored with the aspect of love., believing it to be the root of existence. Deemed “the pen of the Civil Rights Movement,” he often found himself in favor and at odds with the leaders of the era. His beliefs that senses of self, society and history along with hard work is the basis of self-creation – especially as a Black person in America, transformed his writing style as he himself adapted through the triumphs but mostly pitfalls of life, personally and professionally.
It demonstrates how his works were strategically influenced by his relationships with Civil Rights pioneers and his personal reckoning with racism. This book perfectly parallels James Baldwin’s writings to the turmoil that existed throughout his career.
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