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Quote by James A. Baldwin

“At bottom, to be colored means that one has been caught in some utterly unbelievable cosmic joke, a joke so hideous and in such bad taste that it defeats all categories and definitions.”

Quote by James A. Baldwin

Author

James A. Baldwin

James A. Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, and playwright. His works explored themes of race, gender, sexuality, and the class structure of American society. Baldwin is known for his profound social criticism and insight into the human condition. more

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“When Americans look out on the world, they see nothing but dark and menacing strangers who appear to have no sense of rhythm at all, nor any respect or affection for white people; and white Americans really do not know what to make of all this, except to increase the defense budget.”

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“Such figures as Boy George do not disturb me nearly so much as do those relentlessly hetero (sexual?) keepers of the keys and seals, those who know what the world needs in the way of order and who are ready and willing to supply that order.”

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“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 really seem to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free.”

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“I must oppose any attempt that Negroes may make to do to others what has been done to them. . . . I know the spiritual wasteland to which that road leads . . . whoever debases others is debasing himself.”

Knows May Has Beens Done Spiritual Wasteland

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“An identity is questioned only when it is menaced, as when the mighty begin to fall, or when the wretched begin to rise, or when the stranger enters the gates, never, thereafter, to be a stranger.”

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“It is impossible to pretend that you are not heir to, and therefore, however inadequately or unwillingly, responsible to, and for, the time and place that give you life -- without becoming, at very best, a dangerously disoriented human being.”

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“The wretched of the earth do not decide to become extinct, they resolve, on the contrary, to multiply: life is their weapon against life, life is all that they have.”

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“Man cannot live by profit alone.”

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“Remember, to hate, to be violent, is demeaning. It means you're afraid of the other side of the coin -- to love and be loved.”

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“The male cannot bear very much humiliation; and he really cannot bear it, it obliterates him.”

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