1965. James Baldwin debates Wm F. Buckley on race. It's a shocking must see.

[nolabear]

I can only let this speak for itself, really. It's an hour long and one of the most riveting hours I have ever seen. It should be played on the mainstream media today. Baldwin BRILLIANTLY lays out what it is like to live as a "Negro" in America, and Buckley, while he makes some good points, absolutely demonstrates what Baldwin says about white cluelessness. I wanted to scream.

Fifty years, and so little has changed.

[woolldog]

1. very cool....K&R

in the middle of watching it right now.

[bigtree]

2. rec

[JaneyVee]

3. Funny how Buckley got owned by an audience member

At the end of his speech so severe it practically negated everything he said. Great video. Thanks.

[valerief]

4. A tale of two cities

Baldwin talks about the AN being systematically beaten down to the point of self-loathing, while Buckley talks about AN not taking advantage of opportunities. Buckley isn't clueless. He's evil incarnate. His bullshit is manufactured to appease whites.

Baldwin finishes with,

“It is a terrible thing for an entire people to surrender to the notion that one-ninth of its population is beneath them. Until the moment comes when we, the Americans, are able to accept the fact that my ancestors are both black and white, that on that continent we are trying to forge a new identity, that we need each other, that I am not a ward of America, I am not an object of missionary charity, I am one of the people who built the country--until this moment comes there is scarcely any hope for the American dream. If the people are denied participation in it, by their very presence they will wreck it. And if that happens it is a very grave moment for the West.”

[nolabear]

5. I may have misused clueless. I mean he has no idea what it means to be in those shoes.

The fact that he also doesn't give a good goddamn makes him, yes, evil.

[valerief]

6. Yeah, clueless means ignorant. Ruling class mouthpieces like Buckley

know just what they're doing. Evil bastards.

Thanks for the clip. I hadn't seen it before.

[woolldog]

7. notice Baldwin's reaction when Buckley accused him

of speaking in an English accent?

He looked pissed.

[valerief]

8. Yeah, that was priceless. The thing is, no one has a more affected accent than Buckley. nt

[woolldog]

10. so true

[Matariki]

9. THANK YOU!

I am a very big fan of James Baldwin and I didn't know this video existed. Thanks for posting it!

[BrotherIvan]

11. +1

He is one of America's greatest writers. I will watch later today.

[hifiguy]

12. Listening to Baldwin is almost hypnotic.

What magnificent (and profoundly true) oratory.

[ancianita]

13. It is! Any videos, & reading his short/long works were a big part of my 80's/90's Am.Lit. classes.

In my view, he's one of the top five prose writers in American literature, which is a huge and sophisticated group.

[hifiguy]

14. I am shamefaced to say I have never read any of his work.

A situation that I intend to remedy posthaste.

[ancianita]

18. May I recommend "Go Tell It On The Mountain," "Sonny's Blues" and "The Price Of The Ticket"?

The first is, on a literary level, his best novel; the second is one of his best short stories and the third is a documentary about him, probably on YouTube.

[hifiguy]

19. Thanks, and you certainly may! Going straight to my "must read" list

and I read about four books a week.

[deutsey]

24. "Going to Meet the Man" is a good collection of his short stories

"The Fire Next Time" is a great essay of his on race and is available in book form.

[nolabear]

20. That was my experience too.

He was eloquent and compelling, and not frantic. By comparison Buckley was an incredible windbag.

[PatSeg]

15. K&R

to view later.

[adieu]

16. The Buckley (white) cluelessness is so apparent

I felt like reaching out and slapping him on the cheek.

He uses the odd metric of 3500 negro medical doctors in 1900 and only 3900 in 1960 and then "explains" how it's the fault of the negroes to not make the effort. What he neglects to explain is the pervasive and unrelenting racial barrier that can't be penetrated by any legal means by the negro. He could have complained about the lack of black ball players in Major League Baseball until the time of Jackie Robinson.

It's not as though blacks couldn't be doctors. It's that many are too poor to even consider a career in the health sector. It's that many are prevented from day one of school to even consider that possibility. It's that many blacks are purposely flunked out of exams and classes by teachers, some inadvertently, some with direct malice, so they can't get accepted to medical schools. It's that many blacks' application to medical school would indicate where they're from and that application is immediately tossed aside. It's that hospitals won't let blacks work with non-black patients. It's that pay at hospitals will be 50% to 75% less than a white colleague's. It's that every error is the black guy's fault. Every success is unexpected gift that can't be depended upon in the future.

It is exactly how they treat Obama today. A black man cannot step foot off a sidewalk without someone explaining how it was done wrong. When that sort of negative commentary gets drummed into your head, your family's heads, your ancestors' heads, your whole communities' heads, it takes a toll. And that toll will take many, many generations to excise from America. I don't think it ever will be removed. It's a cancer that has eaten off a part of the country's soul and cannot be replaced.

[nolabear]

21. That's the opportunity before us now, to help or hurt.

I don't know where this will end up, but I sure know it'll be remembered. If people weren't such fools we could get some good out of this Michael Brown horror.

[handmade34]

17. excellent! n/t

[jimlup]

22. This should be interesting - thanks

marked for later viewing

[gollygee]

23. .

posting here so I can find it later.

[nolabear]

25. Shamelessly kicking my own thread, because it's important.

[hifiguy]

26. I will give it another kick!

[zazen]

27. that is amazing--I'm going to convene my family to watch that

It raises so many issues for us intergenerationally, and his eloquence is hypnotic. Thank you sooo much for posting this.

[stevenleser]

28. K&R&Bookmarked and will send out on all of my social media accts... nt