It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
James A. BaldwinRead
Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life experiences can strip away a person's innocence but can also guide them back to a more genuine understanding of life.
James A. Baldwin's quote reflects on the dual nature of experience; it can be harsh and disillusioning, shattering the naive perceptions of the world. However, through these trials, individuals often gain insight and perspective, enabling them to return to a state of innocence, but with a deeper appreciation and understanding of life.
Themes
ExperienceInnocenceWisdomUnderstandingGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a motivational speech about resilience and personal growth.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes βThe white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
James A. BaldwinRead
Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
James A. BaldwinRead
The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
James A. BaldwinRead
The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
James A. BaldwinRead
Every legend, moreover, contains its residuum of truth, and the root function of language is to control the universe by describing it.
James A. BaldwinRead
Similar quotes
I wonder what it is that the people who criticize me for telling this story truly object to: is it that I have dared to tell the story? Or that the story turns out not to be the one they wanted to hear?
Joyce MaynardRead
I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
Thomas CarlyleRead
I prayed for Faith, and thought that some day Faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But Faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Now Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God'. I had closed my Bible, and prayed for Faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and Faith has been growing ever since.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: "I will it!
Ayn RandRead
Knowledge must come through action. You can have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial.
SophoclesRead
I drank at every vine, the last was like the first. I came upon no wine so wonderful as thirst.
Edna St. Vincent MillayRead