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
how can one respect, let alone adopt, the values of a people who do not, on any level whatever, live the way they say they do, or the way they say they should?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote questions the integrity of people's values when their actions do not align with their stated beliefs.
James A. Baldwin's quote highlights the dissonance between proclaimed values and actual behavior. He asserts that true respect for a group’s values is only possible when there is congruence between what people say they believe and how they act. This disconnect challenges the authenticity of their values and raises questions about societal integrity.
Themes
ValuesIntegrityAuthenticityBeliefsBehavior
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about social justice and the importance of accountability.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes →The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
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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.
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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
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