“The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim: he or she has become a threat.” -James Baldwin
It was when I was researching prominent moments in the history of debate that I came across, for the first time in the several decades of my life, the powerful words delivered by James Baldwin. Specifically those he delivered at the Cambridge Union via a clip on YouTube simply entitled “The Pin Drop Speech”. Knowing the implications there I was curious to hear what was so powerful it shook others to silence.
He did not fail to deliver.
Mr. Baldwin was the first speaker in a debate at the prestigious Cambridge Union to receive a standing ovation. This was in 1965 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The topic of the debate was “The American Dream is at the expense of the American Negro“. Going against the notion was a soon to be, I would presume, defeated yet defensive William Buckley who still going in the typically coveted second spot failed to match the vehement delivery Baldwin so eloquently, vulnerably, and personally delivered.
Baldwin grew up in Harlem in 1924 and started his adolescent life in the church which he later left due to internal conflict he felt. Baldwin was gay and that particular intersectionality made him unique not only in his writing but in his experience as a black man as a part of the Civil Rights Movement.
At 24 he moved to France as he felt he was no longer safe in the United States and reasonably so commenting, and I am paraphrasing, that too many of his brothers and sisters had died. He felt he could not write under such conditions in America at the time and so took to Europe where he finished his first work the semi autobiographical Go Tell It On The Mountain. While a success also in the United States his second novel, Giovanni’s Room was met with difficulty in it’s publication due to the disclosure and subject matter surrounding the nature of a gay relationship.
Renowned as an essayist his first collection published shortly after his first book Notes of a Native Son, wherein when not utilizing the first person narrative switches to that of another perspective. Something that made Baldwin’s work distinct was his understanding of the fear evoked, or perhaps provoked, in the White Southern American and felt that it was solely that “white identity” that left them clinging to a sense of self.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” -James Baldwin
I find that in describing Baldwin I experience a sense of failing to truly encapsulate the passion and vulnerability behind his words. It was listening to him whether speeches or interviews that truly connected me towards what still does to this day. You see I found Baldwin so captivating because of the “Pin Drop Speech” which has several available analyses for viewing available.
The fear he felt when writing came at a time when this was certainly understandable and palatable. In the above clip he mentions between writing the assassinations of his friends namely Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (who he kindly referred to simply as Martin). Another close friend of his was Nikki Giovanni whose death was only just recently. There is a very captivating dialogue the two had which speaks for a period of television I barely recognize almost similar to the interviews he appeared in on The Dick Cavett Show. Unlike modern late night television Cavett didn’t subject his interviewees to car karaoke or odd jokes but had a genuine conversation.
Perhaps that is the part of me that is old fashioned. The same part that hoped one day I could achieve the same pin drop effect that Baldwin so gracefully was able to do. What I can say is that after dissecting that delivery I have yet to have any official public debate yet so I suppose the intention and preparation alone may speak for itself.
Through his writing James Baldwin confronted with both strength and compassion the issues he faced as a gay black man during the Civil Rights Movement Era and even becoming a part of the Harlem Renaissance. He went on to incorporate his work for the stage later in life which can be seen in an interview being rehearsed as he discusses his need to escape America in order to be able to actually love the country from where he came. It was only then he was able to support his family and not sit in fear at the typewriter worried for his life during a part of history where fear saturated the air and was palpable.
Perhaps it is my admiration and Baldwin’s powerful words that leaves me feeling as if I can do no justice speaking for his life as much as he does himself. With that said there are clips provided here that I do hope accomplish such justice in showing was a prolific, impactful, and courageous man James Baldwin had to be.
It goes without saying that in the current political climate his struggles echo much of what is presently occurring but also how such events have overshadowed the usual attention we give to Black History Month. I know the argument regarding such is the question of what about the month for white history?
I think that might be every other month.
