It is only in his music, which Americans are able to admire because a protective sentimentality limits their understanding of it, that the Negro in America has been able to tell his story.

Quote by James Baldwin

Topics: James Baldwin Quotes

It is a very rare man who does not victimize the helpless.

It is a very rare man who does not victimize the helpless.

The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which...

The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which...

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love...

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love...

The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced...

The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced...

The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that...

The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that...

The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by...

The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by...

If you're treated a certain way you become a certain kind of person. If certain...

If you're treated a certain way you become a certain kind of person. If certain...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power...

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power...

The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other...

The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person...

An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person...

Europe has what we do not have yet, a sense of the mysterious and inexorable...

Europe has what we do not have yet, a sense of the mysterious and inexorable...

There is a sanctity involved with bringing a child into this world, it is better...

There is a sanctity involved with bringing a child into this world, it is better...

We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our...

We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our...

Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in...

Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in...

I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.

I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.

No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live...

No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live...

A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.

A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.

You cannot fully understand your own life without knowing and thinking beyond your life, your...

You cannot fully understand your own life without knowing and thinking beyond your life, your...

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home...

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home...