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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
History focuses more on the experiences and actions of ordinary people rather than just famous individuals.
James A. Baldwin emphasizes that history should not be viewed as the achievements of a few notable figures, but rather as the collective experiences of the masses. This perspective highlights the importance of everyday people in shaping events and societal changes, thus reminding us that history is deeply rooted in the actions and struggles of the countless individuals who live it.
Themes
HistoryPeopleCollectiveExperiencesSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on social movements, I might quote Baldwin to illustrate the importance of grassroots activism.
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
Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
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
Similar quotes
You all must realize that Mandela was not the only man who suffered. There were many others - hundreds who languished in prison and died. Many unsung and unknown heroes of the struggle.
Winnie Madikizela-MandelaRead
Blacks have experienced a history of victimization in America, beginning obviously in slavery and then another 100 years of segregation. I grew up in segregation. I know very well what it was about and all of the difficulties it placed on black life, and how we were truly held down before the civil-rights movement.
Shelby SteeleRead
The Europeans not only colonialized most of the world, they began to colonialize information about the world and its people. In order to do this, they had to forget, or pretend to forget, all they had previously known abut the Africans.
John Henrik ClarkeRead
An historian should yield himself to his subject, become immersed in the place and period of his choice, standing apart from it now and then for a fresh view.
Samuel Eliot MorisonRead
I have not always been wrong. History will bear me out, particularly as I shall write that history myself.
Winston ChurchillRead
If you were lost for America, there is nobody who could keep the army and the revolution [going] for six months.
Marquis De LafayetteRead