Where do we go from here?
Caribbean Life, Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2020 27
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Did you see that?
Sure you did. You couldn’t
miss it, actually, because you
can spot hatred, discrimination,
and bad trouble a mile
away. You know when something’s
wrong and you saw it;
saw it coming, in fact, and
you weren’t alone. In “Begin
Again” by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.,
you’ll know that a warning was
sounded decades ago.
Every day, it seems like you
catch the news and you cringe.
“It is exhausting,” says
Glaude, “to find oneself… navigating
a world rife with deadly
assumptions about you and
those who look like you… for
no other reason” than the color
of your skin or your sexuality.
Author James Baldwin keenly
felt both and in the midst of his
career, he demanded, through
his writing, that America come
to terms with “this so-called
democracy.” Baldwin was tired
of a “set of practices” Glaude
calls “the lie,” or “more properly
several sets of lies” meant
to keep racism alive in as many
American systems as possible.
Baldwin saw “the lie” and
it enraged him: once, early in
the Civil Rights Movement, he
made a group of Black college
students promise that they
would never take to heart “the
lies” they heard about themselves.
It’s been said that he
saw “the lie” and wanted to
give “warning” to White readers
of the battle to come, but in truth, Glaude says, Bald- win wasn’t sure “whether white America was worthy of warning
at all.”
These are the things Baldwin
spoke out against, says
Glaude, and that we still grapple
with — especially in the
political climate in which we
live. He believes “the divisions
in the country feel old and
worn,” although we do have
the tools to alter current racial
and political climates. Baldwin,
for instance “insisted that we
reach for a better self…”
“With that in mind,” says
Glaude, “we have to gather ourselves
to fight and to begin
again.”
In his introduction, author
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. says that
he was in Heidelberg when he
started this book, which gave
him a unique perspective of
the “current state of our politics.”
He says that he didn’t
write it as biography or literary
criticism or history, although it
ended up being “some combination
of all three.” This, plus
a good measure of personal
memoir thrown in, adds a different
twist and makes “Begin
Again” quite deep.
But not too deep: there’s
enough room here for readers
to be moved by the parallels
that Glaude draws between then
and now, and how Baldwin perceived
American society before
his death. Glaude also presents
Baldwin’s constant fury and
sadness over “the after times”
(post-Civil Rights Movement)
with an urgency that can still
galvanize, though Baldwin has
been gone for more than three
decades.
So what would Baldwin have
thought about our current
administration? Glaude doesn’t
hypothesize here, so we’re left
mostly to draw our own conclusions,
to imagine, think,
and to use Baldwin’s words as
a sort of guide out.
And for that, “Begin Again”
is a book you’ll want to see.
“Begin Again: James
Baldwin’s America and Its
Urgent Lessons for Our
Own” by Eddie S. Glaude
Jr.
c.2020, Crown
$27.00 / $36.00 Canada
239 pages
Book cover of “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our
Own” by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
Guyana Cultural Association
firmation, the organization
will stage, dance,
music, drumming and
poetry, during its usual
thrilling presentation, that
is expected to attract a
huge viewing audience.
It this vein, GCA,
is hopeful, that donations
would pour-in,
since the organization
is depending solely on
f inancial contributions
to help continue
its yearly programs, to
engage children, youth,
and the community as
a whole.
The non-profit is
accepting pledges, via
PayPal, Chase Quick-
Pay, and Zelle.
Checks could also
be sent to Guyana Cultural
Association, 1368
East 89th St., Suite 2,
Brooklyn, NY 11236.
To learn more, go to
Guyana Arts and Cultural
Facebook page. https://
www. facebook.com/
groups/1186213518058967
All events are accessible
via – Zoom Link: https://
zoom.us/j/92860125961
?pwd=VDY4QkROekRoQ
XM5YWc4WEVQUmhrQ
T094 Meeting ID: 928 6012
5961Meeting Password:
672867
Continued from Page 25
Nationals waving Guyana’s Golden Arrowhead fl ags at last year’s memorable
Family Fun Day at Old Boys and Girls High School grounds, in Brooklyn.
Photo by Tangerine Clarke
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