Review: I Am Not Your Negro — Directed by Raoul Peck
I Am Not Your Negro is a 2016 film documentary that is based on James Baldwin's letter to his literary agent for a project known as "Remember This House." Though his 30 page manuscript was unfinished, it is still a tangible and thought-provoking exploration of the lives, legacies, and demises of three Black American civil rights activists: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. Director Raoul Peck partners with actor Samuel L. Jackson to take up the challenge of piecing together a documentary using the writer's commentary on the struggle for Black liberation against White supremacy in the United States.
The documentary is Baldwin's thoughtful reflection on his personal journey. He discusses the cultural conditioning he endured as a young Black boy growing up in a Harlem ghetto. Several clips of his speeches are partnered with historical archival footage, scenes from classic films and TV shows, and news bytes. The film is both an autobiography of James Baldwin as well as an exposé of America's inability to reconcile its legacy of Black suppression. He reflects on how the United States has done a tremendous job of numbing the White populace's psyche to the atrocities that were committed against Indigenous people and Black people. He also reflects on the tribalism within the Black community and how it fails to either unite or to support Black people in their struggle. It is also a thoughtful reflection of his encounters with White people and Europeans whom he saw as genuinely good.
Baldwin's reflections don't just indict the conservative White people of the American South. He also challenges White liberals and moderates in their roles in maintaining inequality by regulating inner-city Black people to ghettos in the North and the West. He also reflects that the realization of psychological warfare he endured over the course of his youth and how it drove him to seek refuge in Paris, France. Living abroad was what allowed him to see the bigger picture of his struggle, and what shortcomings were in his character v. the American conditioning.
This film is not only for those who are looking to understand the history of civil rights or those who are fans of Baldwin. It is also a haunting psychological investigation into the social conditioning of White and Black Americans. It is a reflection of how Black Americans are oftentimes used as a scapegoat and as a tool for White people to "conquer" the North American continent and the Indigenous people that call it home. It is also a reflection on how the internal struggles within the Black community are also something to beware of. His remarks on how many Black people treat each other and those they see as different-- especially those who are suspected of homosexuality-- are hauntingly relevant in today's social context.
Despite his suspected homosexuality and his disagreement with the majority of the Civil Rights leaders...Baldwin was hailed as an icon of the Movement. The film does a tremendous job at portraying the intellectual might of a man who was able to collaborate with those who were ideologically opposed to him. He was also a witness and friend to three of the greatest civil rights icons of his time. I Am Not Your Negro will leave you still thinking about Baldwin's insights. It is an invitation to reflect on the serious nature of the American condition...and a challenge to wrestle with America's more sinister underbelly and how it impacts physical, psychological, and spiritual conditions of all its people.
You can watch a trailer for the film here. It can be found on Hulu and Amazon.
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