History is not a procession of illustrious people. It’s about what happens to a people. Millions of anonymous people is what history is about.
JAMES BALDWIN
JAMES BALDWIN
More James Baldwin quotes
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin It’s a miracle to realize that somebody loves you.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin We all commit our crimes. The thing is to not lie about them.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin Most of us, no matter what we say, are walking in the dark, whistling in the dark.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin People are too various to be treated so lightly. I am too various to be trusted.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin For nothing is more unbearable, once one has it, than freedom.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin The impossible is the least that one can demand.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin Most of us are about as eager to be changed as we were to be born, and go through our changes in a similar state of shock.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin You write in order to change the world, if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin Everyone wishes to be loved, but in the event, nearly no one can bear it. Everyone desires love but also finds it impossible to believe that he deserves it.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin