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
The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the personal transformation and rejection of previous identities to embrace a new cultural identity as an American.
James A. Baldwin's quote suggests that becoming an American involves a profound personal journey where an individual must let go of previous affiliations and histories. It highlights the idea that the true essence of American identity is formed when one fully embraces the culture and values of the United States, shedding past ties and histories in the process.
Themes
IdentityTransformationCultureHistoryAdoption
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing new citizens during a naturalization ceremony.
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
I don't know. I don't know at all. And that's what's frightening the life out of me. To have no idea.
Agatha ChristieRead
(The difficulty over the question of eternal torments lies in) how it is irreconcilable with the Goodness of God, to put any Persons at all upon a necessity of making such an Option, wherein if they choose amiss, the Misery they incur must be irrevocable.
Samuel ClarkeRead
When war is not just it is subsequently justified; so it becomes many things. In reality, an unjust war is merely piracy. It consists of piracy, ego and, more than anything, money. War is our century's prostitution.
T. S. EliotRead
I've always rejected being understood. To be understood is to prostitute oneself. I prefer to be taken seriously for what I'm not, remaining humanly unknown, with naturalness and all due respect
Fernando PessoaRead
People say maybe we have a soul and chimpanzees don't. I feel that it's quite possible that if we have souls, chimpanzees have souls as well.
Jane GoodallRead
Literary critics, however, frequently suffer from a curious belief that every author longs to extend the boundaries of literary art, wants to explore new dimensions of the human spirit, and if he doesn't, he should be ashamed of himself.
Robertson DaviesRead