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Quotes by James Baldwin

Born: 2nd August 1924, Died: 1st December 1987
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, and playwright.
Welcome to our collection of thought-provoking quotes by James Baldwin, an influential and renowned novelist. This page showcases a compilation of insightful and poignant reflections by Baldwin, a writer whose works continue to resonate with readers all over the world. Explore the rich and diverse perspectives that Baldwin offers on various topics, including race, identity, love, and social justice. Immerse yourself in the brilliance and relevance of his words, as you delve into the mind of a literary genius whose prose continues to challenge and inspire. Discover the profound impact of James Baldwin's words and gain a deeper understanding of his lasting legacy.

The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose. Read Summary

I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. Read Summary

There is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now. Read Summary

Be careful what you set your heart upon - for it will surely be yours. Read Summary

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. Read Summary

An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience. Read Summary

A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled. Read Summary

The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in. Read Summary

The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. Read Summary

People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply; by the lives they lead. Read Summary

It is only in his music, which Americans are able to admire because a protective sentimentality limits their understanding of it, that the Negro in America has been able to tell his story. Read Summary

When one begins to live by habit and by quotation, one has begun to stop living. Read Summary

The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced him. Read Summary

It is very nearly impossible... to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind. Read Summary

Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters? Read Summary

Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it. Read Summary

It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. Read Summary

Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch. Read Summary

To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. Read Summary

Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law. Read Summary