All James A. Baldwin Quotes
- The question of sexual dominance can exist only in the nightmare of that soul which has armed itself, totally, against the possibility of the changing… Armed
- The face of a lover is an unknown, precisely because it is invested with so much of oneself. It is a mystery, containing, like all… All
- There are few things more dreadful than dealing with a man who knows he is going under, in his own eyes, and in the eyes… Attention
- Pessimists are the people who have no hope for themselves or for others. Pessimists are also people who think the human race is beneath their… Beings
- The writer's greed is appalling. He wants, or seems to want, everything and practically everybody, in another sense, and at the same time, he needs… All
- Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this, it… Discover
- An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience. Arrived
- Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it. Destroys
- In order to have a conversation with someone you must reveal yourself. Conversation
- The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross. Bible
- Our dehumanization of the Negro then is indivisible from our dehumanization of ourselves; the loss of our own identity is the price we pay for… Annulment
- Not only was I not born to be a slave; I was not born to hope to become the equal of the slave master. Born
- The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of… Adopt
- Any honest examination of the national life proves how far we are from the standard of human freedom with which we began. The recovery of… Achievement
- It is a very grave matter to be forced to imitate a people for whom you know-which is the price of your performance and survival-you… Appears
- What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one's heroic ancestors. It's astounding to me, for example, that so many people… All
- If one cannot risk oneself, then one is simply incapable of giving. And, after all, one can give freedom only be setting someone free. All
- To be born in a free society and not to be born free is to be born into a lie. To be told by co-citizens… Beginning
- The miracle is that some have stepped out of the rags of the Republic's definition to assume the great burden and glory of their humanity… Achievement
- The real victim of bigotry is the white man who hides his weakness under his myth of superiority. Bigotry
- Words like 'freedom', 'justice' and 'democracy' are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It… All
- The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is… Become Conscious
- Everything in life depends on how that life accepts its limits. Acceptance
- Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that… Bind
- The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently. Differently