ON BEING

AND OTHER LIES

BY JAMES BALDWIN

REPRODUCED FROM
THE CRISIS TERRIFYING THIS

ESSENCE

APRIL

1984
AND

IS REMARKABLE OF LEADERSHIP IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY WHITE COMMUNITY NO IN FACT BECAUSE THERE IS

IM WILLING TO AND IT IS STATEMENT MAY SEEM AN ENORMOUS IM ALSO WILLING TO ATTEMPT TO SPELL IT OUT BE CHALLENGED OR THAT PORTION OF OF COURSE AMERICA MY FRAME OF REFERENCE IS AND THIS AMERICA CALLS ITSELF THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT THAT VISION OF THE OF THE EUROPEAN ESSENTIALLY AM SPEAKING MEANS OF THE VISION PERHAPS THE EUROPEAN WORLD OR MORE PRECISELY WHAT IT PRETENDS TO VISION AS REMARKABLE FOR IS IT UNIVERSE DEMOLISHES OR REMORSELESSLY DIMINISHES AS FOR WHAT IT INCLUDE OUT OF ACCOUNT LEAVES TOTALLY
THERE

HERE THERE GERMAN COMMUNITY DUBLIN AND BOSTON THERE IS JEWISH AND THERE IS STREET BANK OF THE HOLY GHOST AND MULBERRY TO NEW YORK CALIFORNIA
COMMUNITY COMMUNITY

IS

FOR

EXAMPLE

IN PRINCIPLE LEAST ANYWHERE OR MORE PRECISELY AT

AN

IRISH

BELFAST ROME NAPLES THE

FROM JERUSALEM TO STRETCHING THERE ARE FRENCH COMMUNITIES COMMUNITIES THERE ARE ENGLISH THERE ARE POLES IN WARSAW WHERE THERE ARE SWISS CONSORTIUMS WHERE BECAUSE AND IN CHICAGO US TO BE FRIENDS THEY WOULD LIKE THERE ARE FOR THAT MATTER INDIAN THEY ARE WHITE WE ARE ENEMIES THE POOR IS THE UNDERWORLD RESTAURANTS AND TURKISH BATHS THERE WITH WHO INTEND TO BECOME RICH ARE ALWAYS TO SAY NOTHING OF THOSE DESCRIBE IT BEARS TERRIFYING COMMUNITY BUT THIS DOES NOT US WHO GOT HERE AND PAID THE WITNESS TO WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERYONE NO ONE WAS THE PRICE WAS TO BECOME PRICE OF THE TICKET IT TOOK GENERATIONS AND WHITE BEFORE HESHE CAME TO AMERICA WHITE COUNTRY THIS BECAME VAST AMOUNT OF COERCION BEFORE OR MORE COMMUNITY IS THE JEWISH IT THAT IS IT PROBABLE THAT IN AMERICA HAS PAID THE ACCURATELY PERHAPS ITS REMNANTS FOR THE PRICE FOR BECOMING WHITE HIGHEST AND MOST EXTRAORDINARY WHERE AND THEY THEY WERE NOT WHITE JEWS CAME HERE FROM COUNTRIES AND INCONTESTABLY NOT WHITE CAME HERE IN PART BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ONLY IN THOSE EYES IN THE EYES OF THE BLACK AMERICAN AND IS HOW THEY AND THIS WHITE JEWS HAVE OPTED TO BECOME AMERICAN ISRAELI FORMER FOR EXAMPLE TO HEAR IT WAS IRONICAL OPERATE THE THAT AGO DECLARE SOME TIME MENACHEM BEGIN PRIME MINISTER STATE OF GOD WHILE KNOWING THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE BOW ONLY TO WITHOUT BLANK CHECK FROM WASHINGTON SUSTAINED BY IS ISRAEL ONE OF THIS MUTUAL ACT OF FAITH FURTHER PURSUING THE IMPLICATION WHITE TRANSLATION INTO AWARE THAT THE JEWISH NEVERTHELESS IS BLACK THE IN WAY THE STATE OF ISRAEL CAN SUSTAIN AMERICAN THE TO HALT AT LEAST NOT YET PRESENCE HERE CAN SCARCELY HOPE

WHITE

SLAUGHTER AND THERE

IN

SOUTH REASON FOR

IS

THAT

SETTLED THE PEOPLE WHO AS THEY CLAIM AMERICA BECAME WHITE THE OF DENYING NECESSITY BECAUSE OF THE THE COUNTRY BECAME WHITE NO COMMUNITY THE BLACK SUBJUGATION BLACK PRESENCE AND JUSTIFYING OR IN OTHER WORDS NO COMMUNITY PRINCIPLE CAN BE BASED ON SUCH FROM NORWAY WHITE MEN LIE ON SO GENOCIDAL CAN BE ESTABLISHED WHITE BY BECAME ARE NORWEQIANS WHERE THEY FOR EXAMPLE THE HOUSES TORCHING THE WELLS SLAUGHTERING THE CATTLE POISONING BLACK WOMEN AMERICANS RAPING MASSACRING NATIVE FOR THOSE WHO THINK THIS MORAL EROSION HAS MADE IT QUITE IMPOSSIBLE HAVE ANY MORAL AUTHORITY AS WHITE IN THIS COUNTRY TO OF THEMSELVES BULK OF THEM MULTITUDINOUS THE OR PUBLICLY AT ALL PRIVATELY SWALLOWING GARBAGE THAT THEY STUNNED BEFORE THEIR TV SETS SIT TO PROFOUND AND UNCONSCIOUS EFFORT KNOW THE BE GARBAGE AND IN BITTER PANIC PROFOUND AND THIS TORPOR THAT DISGUISES JUSTIFY KNOW THEY EVEN THOUGH ATHLETIC TO VAST AMOUNT OF ATTENTION PAY THEIR SONS THE REPUBLIC THAT THE FOOTBALL PLAYER THE SON OF SCHEME THEY ARE OF THE MONEYMAKING IS MERELY ANOTHER ASPECT THE BLACK BOY ON OF OR EMBITTERED BY THE PRESENCE EITHER RELIEVED AND HARD THEY HOW LONG DO NOT KNOW IF THEY REMEMBER THE TEAM HAVE DARE ANY DO NOT KNOW THAT THEY FOUGHT TO KEEP HIM OFF IT AND AND FATHERS PAID BLACK PEOPLE MOTHERS NOTION OF THE PRICE OR FACE THE SHAME OF TO KNOW THE MEANING WANT DO NOT THEY PAY OF OUT OF WHAT THEY TOOK AS THE NECESSITY WHAT THEY COMPELLED CLA CASSIUS AKA OR ROBINSON OR JACKIE JOE LOUIS BEING WHITE THEMSELVES WOULD NOT HAVE THAT KNOW THEY TO MUHAMMAD ALI PAY LIKED TO PAY IT COUNTRY THE PROOF LABOR MOVEMENT IN THIS THERE NEVER HAS BEEN FATHERT0 SOCALLED THE BLACK PRESENCE IN BEING THE ABSENCE OF BUT WINDOW IN THE THERE ARE PERHAPS SOME NIGGERS SONS UNIONS BLACKS HAVE NO POWER IN THE LABOR UNIONS
ITSELF MEANS OF KEEPING COMMUNITY AS REPRESENTATIVES WHITE ELECT AS THEY IMAGINE THEIR POLITICAL IS REPRESENTED BY SO ENGLAND IN THE WORLD INCLUDING NO NATION WILL NOT NAME MEDIOCRE OF THE RELENTLESSLY STUNNING PANTHEON JUST SO DOES THE WHITE NAMES WILL LEAVE THAT TO

YOU

TOTALLY FALSE COWARDICE THIS NECESSITY OF JUSTIFYING BUT THIS HISTORY CALLED GENOCIDAL WHAT MUST BE AND OF JUSTIFYING IDENTITY MOST IGNORANT OF THE HANDS INTO THE HAS PLACED EVERYONE NOW LIVING DID AND HOW THEY GET SEEN AND POWERFUL PEOPLE THE WORLD HAS EVER THAT WAY OF BY OPTING FOR SAFETY INSTEAD THAT THEY WERE WHITE BY DECIDING LIRE MEANT CHILDS BLACK THEMSELVES THAT LIFE BY PERSUADING LIFE BY ABANDONING THEIR CHILDS WHITE NOTHING COMPARED WITH THEIR BY INFORMING TO THE THINGS WHITE MEN COULD BUY CHILDREN NO HAD CHILDREN AND BLACK THAT BLACK WOMEN BLACK MEN CHILDREN

THAT THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES WHITE OFF AND IN THIS DEBASEMENT AND DETINITION THEMSELVES THEY DEBASED AND DEFINED HUMAN INTEGRITY

DL

WERE BOUND TO

PEOPLE

BECAUSE THEY TO THE EDGE OF OBLIVION AND HAVE BOUGHT HUMANITY THEMSELVES TO BE TORMENTED CANNOT ALLOW THINK THEY ARE WHITE THEY BECAUSE BROTHERS THEY THINK THAT ALL MEN ARE THE SUSPICION BY INTO EXISTENCE FOR OR BOMBING ARE LOOKING THEY THEY ARE WHITE CHEERFUL NATIVES AND CHEAP LABOR BECAUSE THEY STABLE POPULATIONS IN BELIEVES AS EVEN NO CHILD THINK THEY ARE WHITE THEY BELIEVE THE ARE WHITE HOWEVER BECAUSE THEY THINK THE DREAM OF SAFETY THEY ARE AS THEY MAY BE AND HOWEVER MULTITUDINOUS VOCIFEROUSLY INTO PILLAR WIFE CHANGED LOTS LOOKING BACKWARD SPEECHLESS AS
OF

SALT

MORAL CHOICE FOR THERE ARE WHITE BEING ABSOLUTELY FOR THOSE OF US WHOSE OF LEADERSHIP THE CRISIS NO WHITE PEOPLE HAS BEEN FORGED OR BRANDED AS BLACK IS NOTHING NEW WE IDENTITY WHO WERE DEFINED WHO WERE NOT BLACK BEFORE WE GOT HERE EITHER THE CRISIS OF FOR HAVE PAID AS BLACK BY THE SLAVE TRADE AND HAVE FOR TIME IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY VERY LONG LEADERSHIP RESOUNDINGLY EVEN WHEN WE FACE THE WORST ABOUT OURSELVES SURVIVED AND TRIUMPHED THERE IF WE HAD NOT SURVIVED AND TRIUMPHED OVER IT AMERICAN ALIVE BLACK WOULD NOT BE

HOWEVER

HERE EVEN IN SUFFERING DARKNESS AND THE FACT THAT WE ARE SILL NOT DARE OR EVEN DEFINED THOSE WHO DO DEFINE BY DANGER ENDLESSLY IN WHITE IS TO THE CRISIS LEADERSHIP THE CONFRONT THEMSELVES KEY OF CRIMINALS KINDS THE PAST INFORMS US OF VARIOUS PEOPLE BUT OF OF TO COURSE POPES ADVENTURERS AND SAINTS SAY NOTHING WHICH INFORMS US AND THAT IT IS THE BLACK CONDITION ONLY BUT THOSE WHO IS TERRIBLE WHITE IT PARADOX CONCERNING PEOPLE BLACK PEOPLE DIVESTED BELIEVED THAT THEY COULD CONTROL AND DEFINE THEMSELVES AND DEFINE THE TO CONTROL THEMSELVES OF POWER

EDITORS NOTE FOR AN EXCELLENT ANALYSIS ABOUT HOW IRISH IMMIGRANTS STAUNCHLY AND PROABOLITIONIST IN THE 19TH CENTURY IN IRELAND WERE TRANSFORMED INTO ARDENT WHITE SUPREMACISTS IN THE SEE THEODORE ALLEN THE INVENTION OF THE WHITE RACE VOL ONE RACIAL OPPRESSION AND SOCIAL CONTROL LONDON NEW YORK VERSO PRESS 1994 PP 136199
ANTIRACIST

USA

THOUSANDS OF GERMAN AND ITALIAN WHO REFUSED TO EXCLUDE AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS AMERICAN AND CHICANO WORKERS FROM THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD THE IWW OR WOBBLIES AND INSISTED ON ORGANIZING ALL WORKERS REGARDLESS OF RACIAL OR NATIONAL ORIGINS WERE ROUNDED UP IN THE INFAMOUS PALMER RAIDS OF 1920 NAMED FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL MITCHELL PALMER BUT ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED BY HIS ASSISTANT EDGAR HOOVER AND DEPORTED SEE WILLIAM PRESTON JR ALIENS AND DISSENTERS FEDERAL OF SUPPRESSION RADICALS 19031933 NEW YORK HARPER TORCHBOOKS 1963 PP 181237 THE
PRINCIPLE

US
TO

GOVERNMENT DOES NOT TAKE

WHITE

KINDLY

TO

EUROPEAN

IMMIGRANTS

WHO

REFUSE

ON

BECOME

PEOPLE