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
It was as though we were a picture, trapped in time: this had been happening for hundreds of years, people sitting in a room, waiting for dinner, and listening to the blues.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the timeless nature of human experiences and emotions, especially in relation to music and communal gatherings.
James A. Baldwin's quote captures the essence of shared human experiences across generations, illustrating how music, particularly the blues, serves as a backdrop to our lives. The imagery of people waiting together for dinner suggests a moment of pause and connection, emphasizing that these moments are universal and have been lived by many before us.
Themes
MusicBluesTimeHuman ExperienceConnection
In practice
Example use cases
You could use this quote in a discussion about the role of music in cultural gatherings.
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.
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
Miraculously, smoke curled out of his own mouth, his nose, his ears, his eyes, as if his soul had been extinguished within his lungs at the very moment the sweet pumpkin gave up its incensed ghost.
Ray BradburyRead
In a photograph a person’s eyes tell much, sometimes they tell all.
Alfred EisenstaedtRead
The hungry and the haunted explode in a rock'n'roll band.
Bruce SpringsteenRead
Google the name Prometheus, and see how often it has been given to innovations in many different fields, notably science, medicine and space exploration. The fire he stole can be seen, too, as the spark generating all artistic creativity.
Neil MacgregorRead
Music makes me forget myself, my true condition, it carries me off into another state of being, one that isn't my own.
Leo TolstoyRead
My method of getting a play across the footlights is like a revolver shooting: every line has a bullet in it and comes with an explosion.
George Bernard ShawRead