James Baldwin's National Press Club Speech (1986)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Original video from CSPAN. All rights and love to CSPAN for first broadcasting this. December 10, 1986 in Washington, D.C.. Baldwin begins his speech 5 minutes in.
Original link here: www.c-span.org...
James Baldwin talked about the civil rights movement, the mistaken worship of innocence and immaturity, the interdependent connections of the world, the U.S. guilt from taking Native American lands, and other topics. He also responded to questions submitted by audience members.
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 - December 1, 1987) was an American novelist and social critic. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America. Some of Baldwin's essays are book-length, including The Fire Next Time (1963), No Name in the Street (1972), and The Devil Finds Work (1976). An unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, was expanded and adapted for cinema as the Academy Award-nominated documentary film I Am Not Your Negro.
Baldwin's novels and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration of not only African Americans, but also gay and bisexual men, while depicting some internalized obstacles to such individuals' quests for acceptance. Such dynamics are prominent in Baldwin's second novel, Giovanni's Room, written in 1956, well before the gay liberation movement.
If you are a copyright holder that would like something removed from my channel please message me on TH-cam & I will respond so you do not need to file a DMCA Copyright Takedown Request with TH-cam. Thank You.
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
We hear about MLK and Malcolm X all the time, James Baldwin hardly at all, and yet he was at least as important to the civil rights movement. What an inspiring human being.
Why are you surprised? You must be black!
Sir, that is because he was gay! (Homophobia)
@@gouloune1 nobody said they are surprised? Lol?
Because he was, "is", a writer who writes and who is not dependant on nor what is defined on what happens in a day!
Because Baldwin was Black and gay, he was omitted from U S history.
He was a man who came along when the country needed him. It still does.
We have NO EDUCATED LEADERS these days ☹
@@mirandabisnou1307 untrue. they are everywhere. when you educate yourself and lead, you too will be one.
@@causeeffect7624
Well, YES.. . You are correct!! Never thought about it that way. Thank You!!💓👍🏼
@@causeeffect7624 absolutely!!
@@mirandabisnou1307 👍
His voice needs to be heard by every American today, especially the white man! His intelligence and honesty made many uncomfortable but his prophetic thoughts explain so much of why we are still in a struggle.
What a Beautiful and Brilliant Black Man. I would've LOVE to have met him and told him how important he is to his BLACK PEOPLE and how LOVED and RESPECTED he is and was.
My HERO !
Took the words right out my mouth....I love listening to him ....pierces my heart when he was talking about his Father and how he had to watch him. His was conversation with Nikki Giovanni is equally fascinating, how they dialogue and respect Love each other........
Talanda Mc Clure why a BLACK man? He is a man
@Indigogoddess1111 Stevens we didnt create them and yet we continue them. Many still profit from them.
@@ca8715 i ask that as well.
Good Lord - what an exceptional, wise mind and eloquent, powerful speaker! As other commenters have rightly said: Baldwin should be honoured and listened to as much as ML King and Malcolm X!
One of the smartest Americans in American history.
I can’t help but wonder what would this most eloquent man would have said about the election of one of the most ignorant lowlife in man America.
Ruth Lieberman Chuck Schumer?
Amen to that!
Thank you, pipesone67!
@@ruthlieberman7157 probably would be the first Mr. Baldwin would be "silent'. Number 45 (president) is so amazingly, phenomenally ignorant!! what else can be said for this type of person who claims to have descended from human beings when in reality he descended from a baboon!
How we need his wisdom today. I’m always moved to tears when I hear his words.
This man was a national treasure. He will be missed
He IS sorely missed . . . now more than ever!
@@kathyanderson9814 03:45 when he mentioned liberating detroit
Is he talking about 1986 or 2020? This is amazing.
IKR...The more things change the more things stay the same.
@@momonie4 Buju Banton 🔥🔥💯🔥
@@ahrayah_yasharahla1392 boom bye bye
I wish James Baldwin were here today. We need him.
him and Helen Thomas, and many others :/
He is here. Just read his work. He's still talking to us, still with us.
@@dingolaystar3873 10:00 what film, our son John
I love it when Baldwin quietly smiles a bit when it's mentioned he was too shy to meet Langston Hughes.
This man was way a head of all the world, a true humanitarian.
Just an amazing man. One of the greatest minds of all time. His words led you to think on so many levels. I'm thankful for his words and thoughts.
Clarity, wisdom, insight and resistance, that's James Baldwin, one of the greatest writers and thinker of all times. One adjective is missing still: courageous-minded.
All who read or listen to Baldwin (and understand) are simply astonished by his genius. My first thought was "Why isn't all writing like this?" -- as if anyone but Balwin could put a finger on what "this" was!
I love this man- I would’ve loved to have had dinner with him, to pick his amazing and highly intelligent mind and powerful rhetoric . A beautiful soul ✊🏾💋
We have lost so many brilliant black men...sigh
Yes, but we still have so many. Just look in the mirror.
...and women.
BY A-L-L MEAN
Thank you for this timely piece. Mr Baldwin will always be brilliant.
A beautiful honest truthful man, so eloquent, he lived his life as a witness so we could be better educated. The Legend James Baldwin. Xxx
ABSOLUTELY LOVING, THE INDIRECT SHADE! I WAS 10 WHEN HE PASSED. WOULD VERY MUCH HAVE LIKED TO HAVE MET MR. BALDWIN....
This should be viewing for every student in our country.
James Baldwin's rhetoric is timeless. Whenever I get into a discussion involving race and American history, I always recommend diving into Baldwin's work.
Just goes to show. You can talk and try to reason until you are blue in the face but there aren't enough words to change the Heart of Evil. We are still dealing with the same sht. Those People will never ever change no matter how many of them say they want change. They don't want change they want to stop being reminded of their wickedness. They want to forget. Things could stay the same as long as you stop reminding them of the past.
I posted that this morning pertaining to this guy....they want peaceful protest, this man did lectures...to colleges, and seminars alike, and no change
Alex Hicks there’s been a lot of change, what are you talking about?
Nate Johnson, yes, there has been change, but not for the better. Hopefully in the wake of George Floyd's martyrdom, this pernicious evil is being purged. I pray that is why there is still this refusal to listen, on the part of whites. They are threatened.
It's a spiritual sickness. They ( and I) need to fully live in the rule of oneness. The same God made everyone.
When part of the family of man is relentlessly oppressed, the entire body of man is sick. 💜
@@BarbaraPryor-Smith Changed since when? It seemed like the above comment(s) were meaning that nothing has changed since things like Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement. I hope and pray as well, that God would change people's hearts, as He is the only one capable of doing so. Unfortunately, the sin of predictive will never go away until the Lord comes back. I would disagree however that black poeple are being oppressed as a group here in America. The statistics show, year after year, that there is no discrimination when it comes to police interaction. Maybe in the justice system in terms of sentencing, but fortunately things are changing thanks to this administration. People are being deceived in order to bring about division. We are heading towards cultural marxism nationwide, it is already here.
@@natej0556 the unwarranted arrests and shootings by officers against black citizens, fatally shooting a woman in her own home because of a phone call from a racist neighbor's call. These lives are taken without any charges against the officers most of the time, until now. Videographic evidence of 9 minutes of coldblooded cruelty was enough to hopefully make hearts change.
America... Values simplicity, and also immaturity... The current US President immediately came to mind, unbidden.
This is painful, because Mr. Baldwin looks ill and yet is still fighting... Believe me, he did his job! Here we are in 2024, still absorbing and FINALLY understanding his words, 'cause the DAMN SURE STILL apply!!! God rest his soul; Ase'!
"If you are sincere about what you say, you don't have to know what you're talking about"...how true 2021
“A post Adolescent who is almost 80 years old” Donald Trump!
41:30 - 43:03 incredible. So brilliant.
James Baldwin was a brilliant mind❤️
James Baldwin has an important message, it's time we realise that we are both blank and white, get away with injustice and cruelty...
People should always look at the marginalised and see how they live... Be honest to our own selves.
The world needs more people like this. JB's intelligence, wisdom, creativity, insightful and thoughtful nature, and deep humanity are a credit to the human race.
Eloquent brilliance speaker 😊
"...this adoration of immaturity so that we really do get, representing us, an adolescent who is almost 80 years old." He was right, apparently, that immaturity is seen as an American virtue.
When listening to this brilliant man I can only look inwardly to examine the uneasy imagination I’ve been indoctrinated into in order to maintain the brittle construct of the so-called American dream. We as a nation are going to destroy each other unless we start to except the truth. I can’t say I love all people but I can say I care for all people but ultimately we as Americans in order to continue to enjoy living in this republic we must include the problems and injustices of all its citizens as our own. .#Blacklivesnotonlymatttertheyareessential.
A most eloquent truthteller; courageous and unsparing in his critique of Americans and Americanism.
slavery is a strange road to take in order to civilize someone!!!!
But gets things done
The vocabulary of ethnic and racial distinctions have outlived the glorious poetic chances of optimism that Baldwin precited, particulalrly on the African continet.
'this never has been or will be a white country' 24:30 👍
'whiteness a state of mind' 39:40 👍
'a modest proposal: white history week' 41:33 🤔
'white people don't know who they are or where they come from' 42:20 🤔
'there's no question of liberating me when you can't liberate yourself' 42:40 👍
53:26 'I know that I have black and white ancestors' 👍
'we are.connected and that connection should be our tribe and our glory, not our shame' 53:52 ♥ 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 ❤
I love this guy.
44:36 - ...is to rethink and recreate our vocabulary, and that includes "the human race." We are all in this room at the mercy of -- whether or not we know it -- the european vision of the world, and that vision is obsolete.
About sums it all up.
Yep, Just love James Baldwin I could listen to him all day.
Why not have a mic at their table as oppose to having them coming to the podium to answer each question.
Monuments should be erected in Baldwin's honor, if there aren't any already.
There arent because hes homosexual, went against christianity and islam.
Wow! I am listening to him speak and I can clearly hear that is asthma is just acting up. His chest is tight, but he hung in there. Talk about commitment
Well he was a heavy smoker & he died in December 1987 of stomach cancer. He was only 63 when he died, but he looks a lot older. He's breathing does sound labored, but he did hang in there like a trooper.
Even a man with such intelligence and insight could still not convince the majority of their wrongdoings. It's quite dissapointing to see that we are in the same situation 34 years later as people continue to refuse to see things at face value as they live in their perpetual delusions of apathy and ignorance. Despite of the cynical feelings held for today's world, I do hold some level of hope with the ongoing national protests and discussions of racial inequality in mainstream media.
RIP Baldwin
Some people there really don't care for what Mr. Baldwin is saying. You can tell by their disinterest. Sad. That's why he says things don't change. The indifference is still there.
Wow, what a superb speaker!
'the purpose of the state is to remain the state... no state is anxious to have dissenters in it' 👍 51:20ish
If there’s a bio pic of James Baldwin, I hope they hire/cast Dave Chappelle to play him!
Not to be racist!!!! But all of the history books we are assigned to study from elementary school all the way through college have, respectful, White people painted at the bad guy but somehow our teachers spin it to seem as though the Whites were right. Literally, just about every history in our schools shows them going around the world wreaking havoc. I’m not making it up. If your have kids, no matter what race they are, ask them what then learned in there history class today.
No country can survive such profound lies - "We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL . . ." - what a lie!!!
@@cathyedwards3861 there are at least five documentaries about him
Malcolm x was pappa bear
Martin Luther king was mamma bear
James Baldwin was just right
(All amazing individuals)
Martin Luther King Was A Man... don’t disrespect.
Wow!
He died just a year after this presentation.
4:55 Speech Starts
I so love this man..
36:29
Kanye West has entered the chat
Baldwin was well ahead of time in thought
outstanding
Knowing means little being is eternity
This man has spent his lifetime documenting the life of the black man in American history. I never knew of him until today, and that is a crime. He has such a brilliant mind.
26:40 who are these men
@@omalone1169 National Press Club and this question in particular James Baldwin spoke of the black image portrayed in the film, "The Color Purple".
I agree with Mr. Baldwin and that is BLACK MEN have always been MARRED! Faith, Hope and Love!
LOL 🤣 🤣 🤣 "Chris got LOST!"
Baldwin talks about two mythical humans: the 'noble savage' and the 'happy darkie'.
Baldwin says those who debased others became inhuman
"...these American virtues..." actually have their roots in Europe, espeially Britain!
A lot of the people in the audience look embarrassed, and so they should.
I don’t know if his name is mentioned in high school text books.
I was 9mo old when he did this.
In my uneducated opinion, Mr. Baldwin was addressing an audience of morons, just going by the questions. Mr. Baldwin was a Rockstar, such a lucid and direct individual.
34:00 what strike
Imagine if we all had the same opportunity to be educated and succeed??? Imagine the contributions blacks would've given to American society. Imagine how advanced we would be. Imagine how progressive we would be. Then adding all others that came later. The Jews, Asians, Indians, Latinos...etc. To welcome immigrants, processibg them and allowing them to flourish is the very idea of America. Of course, they all assimilated and prospered mainly because of their straight hair, pale face and fact that they have some group lower on the totem pole. Yet, America will not grow beyond a certain point because of how it treats the very people who helped to build her.
America is an Ideal. It could have never gone any farther than where it is headed right now. Capitalism and Profit is all it knows.
They did
@@queenroyalty2141 I couldn't agree more.
James Balwin was a national treasure.
I'm a proud black man in amerikkka living good hold a job place psy my own way in life no welfare finished school 28 yrs ago both my parents still here came from a good home
Not an activist. A cultured, civil and decent human being.
💜💜💜💜💜
He was an absolute genius.
Love James Baldwin, America loss a true treasure.
What a brilliant man
Every time they make him stand and sit, very irritating. Best to keep the Mike where James Baldwin sits, very insensitive in their own way,
Fine person with brilliant mind, love to hear him, rest in peace and keep living in many hearts.
The cc caption is inaccurate. It does not capture the actual words of Mr James Baldwin. Often I noticed the CC caption skips some of his words and you can see this in 17:54 where he says he 'loathes them' 'cc captures loves them'
'if we don't share the earth, we are going to blow it up' 44:10
17:35 🤝🏾
I find it weird that James Baldwin has been very influentual in the 60s and 70s, but his public image has so absolutely fallen into disrepair that I didn't even know about this man until a few months ago.
It seems to me that Baldwin hasn't really been the kind of simple figurehead that you can make him into, like Malcolm X for the black nationalists and MLK for mainstream white liberals. Malcolm X and MLK were also not the mythical creatures they later were claimed to be, but they were much more conducive for simplification.
Baldwin however was a much more complex figure and he never really had the kind of cult following that others used to have. He was just himself, a bitter intellectual that liked to give thoughtful impulses but whose lifework was always underappreciated, until this day.
Also, he was gay. The black church didn't want his legacy as a gay rights activist.
He was anything but bitter. I’m a witness, I was there! So please....
@@mountainlinx 27:30 The Colour Purple dissected
Yeah, i remember one of his speeches he says he does everything he can not to be bitter, i think he worked hard at that. @@mountainlinx
The LAST thing the Republic wants is an autonomous black community.
I wish he could have started a revolution.
..did you hear that pin drop?
NO RACE, JUST A SPECIES. ☘🌈😎
Mr. Baldwin's unflinching assessments of racism in America and around the world,
He didnt define it
💎💎💎💎💎
The man is a very eloquent author and speaker but it seems to me that he harbors a deep resentment for all white people. It's hard to figure out what he wants America to be, a country of equality and certain social standards and mores (after all, he didn't show up wearing a dashiki) or did he want America to take on an Afrocentric vibe so 20% of the population would somehow show us how to do it "right" ? Regardless I'd like to think if he were alive today he'd tell the young men, both black and white, to pull up their damn pants !!!
He was clear that the future should be about being human and not about race. That way all prejudice would disappear. He implied the same when responding to the question 'what subject interests you most today' where he says he watches children today and notes t&at they are harder to mislead than his generation and will catch on about the racial myths and prejudices, even if his generation keeps lying about them or refuses to acknowledge.
So sad he died the next year
Extremely sad.
'attempt to liberate the children' 45:30
48:05 'elders have betrayed them [the children] by throwing jaguars and TV sets at them.and other paraphernalia... instead of loving them...and children, unlike their elders, are.not easy fooled' 👏 👏 👏 🥳 🎉 🪅 🎊 🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I aspire to become a great man like James Baldwin. Never to get there but to aspire and strive.
I absolutely love Jimmy, I just wish he hadn’t smoked as much as he did imagine how much longer he might’ve been around.
Cancer can be caused by so much more than smoking.. but I get what you're saying.
He died of stomach cancer though
All the conflict is just a turbulent churning of metropolis politics with rural tradtion and both exchanges occur when both is willing to chunt the trash off on the other. The only things exchanged that are actually valued occur underneath it all because the polis would never concede to it or never want anyone to be aware they value it that much or in most cases are unaware anything is being exchanged at all.
Great man. RIP
"If you're simple minded enough you can become" ....the president of the United States. Reagan was awful while being considered terrific. Says a lot about the American mind.
i heard someone say that we should wear masks but not a black one.... what was that?
I miss mr James
Officials not trained in H2O rescue only to kill on the side of the roads & in peoples bed.
a good way to understand washington BC
Come on Joe it’s time!
Disobedient leaders?! I guess the grand wizard of the KKK is an obedient leader!
Smart man...