Movie: I Am Not Your Negro

I Am Not Your Negro:  words by James Baldwin and narration by Samuel Jackson.  James Baldwin passed away on December 1, 1987.  This documentary film, directed by Raoul Peck, is proof that Baldwin’s writings are as valid and insightful today as when they were first penned.  At the time of his death, Baldwin had started a manuscript bearing the working title Remember This House.  His premise for the book  was telling of his interactions with Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and Malcom X.  Peck’s film goes beyond these three individuals and their assassinations; it presents a deeply meaningful exploration of racism in the United States.  Part of the brilliance of this 95 minute film, in addition to its wide ranging sound track, is its scene selection from the past through the present, including reactions to Black Lives Matter.  I Am Not Your Negro may be the best documentary on the subject of race in the United States.  Using Baldwin’s commentary on race relations in America, the film viscerally presents the dialogue that both Clinton and Obama, in their very different styles, tried to begin in this country.  The film is organized around thoughts and concepts rather than chronology, and Peck keeps you involved, in part, because you don’t know where he’s going next.  The film was deservingly nominated for Best Documentary Feature.  While OJ: Made in America won the Oscar and 13 was a strong competitor, my vote remains with I Am Not Your Negro. OJ tells the race story by focusing on an uniquely athletic individual who, as an adult, seemed more comfortable among Whites than Blacks.  13’s focus was on an undeniably important issue, prisons and prisoners.  In his film, Peck gives you the full race relations picture without requiring you to invest multiple hours of viewing time as with the OJ documentary.  I don’t know many folks who would watch OJ a second time due partly to its length.  However, with Baldwin’s dialogue and a run time of less than 2 hours, I think Peck’s film will be viewed more than just once.  Peck draws on a wide range of Baldwin’s writings,  particularly The Devil Finds Work, a 1976 publication dealing with Baldwin’s Hollywood experience and “white innocence” as to the history of discrimination and racial violence.  Both this film and the excellent PBS documentary on Maya Angelou effectively use the scene from “The Dick Cavett Show” wherein Baldwin reacts to Yale professor, Paul Weiss, who scolds Baldwin for dwelling too much on race.  The Cavett scene, however, is the exception; Baldwin probably appears more in the Angelou documentary than in the film by Peck.  It is the strength of Samuel L. Jackson’s voice speaking Baldwin’s words together with a candid visual presentation that gives this film its awesome power.  I will close my comments with a Baldwin quote: “I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive.  I’m forced to be an optimist.”  Peck’s film is true to James Baldwin’s spirit.  Once in a great while, a film appears that I wish every American would go see.  This is one of those rare films.