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 moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Trust and faith in one another are essential for survival and hope.
James A. Baldwin's quote emphasizes the crucial importance of faith and trust within relationships. When we betray that trust, it leads to a deep sense of despair and hopelessness, symbolized by the sea engulfing us and the light going out, illustrating that our connections are what provide direction and meaning in life.
Themes
TrustRelationshipsFaithCommunicationBetrayal
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of teamwork in a corporate setting.
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
It's easier to be faithful to a restaurant than it is to a woman.
Federico FelliniRead
We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'.
Susan SarandonRead
We live in a society where we may have differences, of course, but we learn to celebrate these differences.
Bernice KingRead
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
J. R. R. TolkienRead
I do my best to please everybody, far more than they'd ever guess. I try to laugh it all off, because I don't want to let them see my trouble.
Anne FrankRead
There are people who can walk away from you... let them walk. I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you... Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person, it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over.
T. D. JakesRead