A time of idiocy is one that often begs for sober reflection, especially reflection that helps describe how we got where we are today. The latter shouldn’t be a tremendous surprise – a nation that imagined itself above its hideous racist past isn’t. And yet, the worst of the worst hate being called “racist” even when they advocate for, say, an all Muslim ban. If this describes you, at least own it, pal.
In the 1960s, celebrated writer James Baldwin knew and interviewed three men who wouldn’t see the 1970s: Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. You get the feeling while watching I Am Not Your Negro that Baldwin was just a few activist rallies away from being bullet #4 on that list of notables. In the 1970s, Baldwin collected his thoughts on the three slain leaders; the result is what essentially serves as a screenplay for this documentary. The collection of half-century old footage is peppered throughout with interviews of Baldwin himself. The first starts with host Dick Cavett, a man I’ve generally found too glib or pithy to handle material of any substance. Perhaps Raoul Peck feels the same way I do as the Cavett/Baldwin 1968 interview on race relations in America is broken up into several pieces thus hiding Cavett’s usual package of cheap asides.
The result is a somber reflection in carefully chosen footage and a most subdued commentary by Samuel L. Jackson. You’d be amazed at just how unrecognizable the usually flamboyant Jackson is. About 80% of the footage in I Am Not Your Negro is from the 60s; about 95% was shot prior to 1980. One would guess that would make the film seem dated and irrelevant. Nothing could be further from the truth. Personally, I think if the American voting masses had been forced to watch this film a year ago, there’s about a 10% chance Donald Trump would be our current President.
Perhaps the most poignant moment in the film is not a scathing video indictment of 60s racism, but of a scene that would have been cherished by white liberals – Bobby Kennedy (another man who wouldn’t see the 1970s) is speaking to a crowd and, in pointing out the progress of blacks in the decade, he prognosticates a black president within 40 years. The predominantly white crowd greets the prediction with cheers; James Baldwin, however, scoffs with condescension. What does 2005 help the black man in 1965? And let’s examine that prediction, shall we? A black man did get elected in 2008. Barack Obama is probably the finest person to be elected President in my lifetime, or several lifetimes. And his presidency was consistently marred by an obstructionist congress. And the obstructionism was
unprecedented. It couldn’t be because Obama is black, could it? And after Obama’s eight years were up, those same forces elected a truly miserable human being as President. Donald Trump is not just a terrible President; he’s a terrible man … and he was the only candidate to run on a platform of racism. Coincidence? This is precisely why James Baldwin couldn’t applaud Bobby Kennedy in 1965; not that Baldwin could necessarily see the future, but because he could see the present.
As I understand it, this is the heart of I Am Not Your Negro – the tendency of white people both for and against racial equality creating their own fictitious versions of what black people should and shouldn’t agree to. It’s a frightening thing to note exactly how much has changed and how little has changed in the past fifty years.
♪Ebony and bigotry go together everywhere, you see
On the sidewalk, in the park, even in a lavatory
We all know that racists are the same wherever you go
Equivocators of hate and fun
We learn to grow when we learn to show
Each other that whole scene is just jive, then we might thrive
Bigotry and Ivory is a problem in our society
Hidden as “voter fraud” and most gerrymandery ♫
Rated PG-13, 95 Minutes
D: Raoul Peck
W: James Baldwin
Genre: Reexamining progress
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Spike Lee
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: George Zimmerman
♪ Parody inspired by “Ebony & Ivory”
