There was no room in God’s army for the coward heart, no crown awaiting him who put mother or father, sister or brother, sweetheart or friend above God’s will. Let the church cry amen to this!
James Baldwin
Faith, Sacrifice, Religion, Loyalty, Divine Will
James Baldwin’s Quotes On Topics
Priorities | Untold Stories | Human Journey | Home And Belonging | Group Dynamics | Desire And Intimacy | Historical Role | Misguided Measure | Self-Acceptance | Cultural Perspective | Cluttered Heart | Rebellion | Aging | Honor | Life's Language | Personal Cost | Generational Struggle | Acceptance | Creative Purpose | Child's Sanctity | More
More James Baldwin Quotes
“You know, it’s not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself.” James Baldwin
Oppression, Self-Destruction, World, Conditioning, Awareness
James Baldwin Oppression, Self-Destruction, World, Conditioning, Awareness“You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You are not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.” James Baldwin
Race, America, Ambition, Society, Oppression, Identity
James Baldwin Race, America, Ambition, Society, Oppression, Identity“To defend oneself against a fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced.” James Baldwin
Fear, Self-Defense, Confrontation, Courage, Personal Growth
James Baldwin Fear, Self-Defense, Confrontation, Courage, Personal Growth“I guess it can’t be too often that two people can laugh and make love, too, make love because they are laughing, laugh because they’re making love. The love and the laughter come from the same place: but not many people go there.” James Baldwin
Love, Laughter, Connection, Joy, Relationships, Intimacy
James Baldwin Love, Laughter, Connection, Joy, Relationships, Intimacy“You took the best, so why not take the rest?” James Baldwin
Loss, Unfairness, Survival, Resentment, Questioning, Brokenness
James Baldwin Loss, Unfairness, Survival, Resentment, Questioning, Brokenness“You go to white movies and, like everybody else, you fall in love with Joan Crawford, and you root for the Good Guys who are killing off the Indians. It comes as a great psychological collision when you realize all of these things are really metaphors for your oppression, and will lead into a kind of psychological warfare in which you may perish.” James Baldwin
Cultural impact, Racial oppression, Film influence, Psychological conflict, Social commentary, Identity crisis
James Baldwin Cultural impact, Racial oppression, Film influence, Psychological conflict, Social commentary, Identity crisis“No curtain under heaven is heavier than that curtain of guilt and lies behind which white Americans hide.” James Baldwin
Guilt, Lies, Racism, Denial, Heaviness, Social Commentary
James Baldwin Guilt, Lies, Racism, Denial, Heaviness, Social Commentary“Hope? The word seemed to bang from wall to wall. Hope? No, I don’t think there’s any hope. We’re too empty here... She touched her heart. This isn’t a country at all, it’s a collection of football players and Eagle Scouts. Cowards. We think we’re happy. We’re not. We’re doomed.” James Baldwin
Hope and Despair, National Identity, Disillusionment, Cowardice, Social Critique
James Baldwin Hope and Despair, National Identity, Disillusionment, Cowardice, Social Critique“When he died I had been away from home for a little over a year. In that year I had had time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warnings, had discovered the secret of his proudly pursed lips and rigid carriage: I had discovered the weight of white people in the world. I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be for me an awful thing to live with and that the bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me.” James Baldwin
Death, Family, Race, Legacy, Struggle, Reflection
James Baldwin Death, Family, Race, Legacy, Struggle, Reflection“The hope of the world lies in what one demands, not of others, but of oneself.” James Baldwin
Hope, Personal responsibility, Self-improvement, Motivation, Individual action, Change
James Baldwin Hope, Personal responsibility, Self-improvement, Motivation, Individual action, Change“I think Americans are terrified of feeling anything. I never met a people more infantile in my life.” James Baldwin
Emotional Suppression, American Culture, Fear, Personal Growth, Societal Critique
James Baldwin Emotional Suppression, American Culture, Fear, Personal Growth, Societal Critique“Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety.” James Baldwin
Change, Loss, Transformation, Identity, Safety, Renewal
James Baldwin Change, Loss, Transformation, Identity, Safety, Renewal“They say the kids are dumb and so they’re teaching them to work with their hands. Those kids aren’t dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure that they don’t get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.” James Baldwin
Education, Empowerment, Inequality, Society, Youth, Control
James Baldwin Education, Empowerment, Inequality, Society, Youth, Control“I wish to God I may die if I don’t love you. There ain’t no sky above us if I don’t love you.” James Baldwin
Unconditional Love, Emotional Devotion, Existential Love, Life and Love, Deep Affection, Romantic Intensity
James Baldwin Unconditional Love, Emotional Devotion, Existential Love, Life and Love, Deep Affection, Romantic Intensity“You face reality, not the lights. The lights go off as quickly as they come on.” James Baldwin
Reality, Fame, Ephemeral Success, Life's Truth, Clarity, Temporary Glory
James Baldwin Reality, Fame, Ephemeral Success, Life's Truth, Clarity, Temporary Glory“The very time I thought I was lost, my dungeon shook and my chains fell off.” James Baldwin
Freedom's Liberation, Personal Struggle, Empowerment, Inner Awakening, Transformation, Life Crisis
James Baldwin Freedom's Liberation, Personal Struggle, Empowerment, Inner Awakening, Transformation, Life Crisis“Christianity has operated with an unmitigated arrogance and cruelty – necessarily, since a religion ordinarily imposes on those who have discovered the true faith the spiritual duty of liberating the infidels.” James Baldwin
Religion, Arrogance, Cruelty, Spiritual Duty, Faith
James Baldwin Religion, Arrogance, Cruelty, Spiritual Duty, Faith“Time could not be bought. The only coin time accepted was life.” James Baldwin
Time, Life, Value, Irreplaceable, Perspective
James Baldwin Time, Life, Value, Irreplaceable, Perspective“The black man in our midst carried murder in his heart, he wanted vengeance. We carried murder too, we wanted peace.” James Baldwin
Racial Struggle, Vengeance vs Peace, Emotional Conflict, Social Justice, Black Identity, Inner Battle
James Baldwin Racial Struggle, Vengeance vs Peace, Emotional Conflict, Social Justice, Black Identity, Inner Battle“Furthermore, it is now absolutely clear that white people are a minority in the world – so severe a minority that they now look rather more like an invention – and that they cannot possibly hope to rule it any longer. If this is so, why is it not also possible that they achieved their original dominance by stealth and cunning and bloodshed and in opposition to the will of Heaven, and not, as they claim, by Heaven’s will?” James Baldwin
Racial Power, Minority and Majority, Colonial History, Global Dominance, Social Shifts
James Baldwin Racial Power, Minority and Majority, Colonial History, Global Dominance, Social Shifts