“All the words in this film are all Baldwin’s. I didn’t write a single word,” said filmmaker Raoul Peck.
In the film “I Am Not Your Negro,” there is no “talking heads” commentary from historical figures or experts speaking on James Baldwin’s rightful place in history as an author, social critic and activist.
Clips and footage provide context and visual stimulation, but the focal point of film is Baldwin’s words – which are narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
The film’s premise – and content – comes from “Remember This House,” an unfinished work by Baldwin that chronicled his relationship with Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Each made a commitment to use their gifts and resources to dismantle racism in America, and each paid the ultimate price. Baldwin’s reflections on their tragic deaths – as well as his own response to the Civil Rights Movement, both as a witness and a vocal advocate who used his platform to expose the ills of systemic racism and segregation – give a first-person perspective.
At the time of Baldwin’s death, he had only written 30 pages of the book he initially pitched to his literary agent in 1979. But Peck managed to create a comprehensive visual narrative that sees Baldwin’s vision realized by way of the lens.
“Me as a filmmaker, I had to be in the background for ‘I Am Not Your Negro.’ I had to be the messenger,” Peck said. “It was not about me – it’s about Baldwin and his words – and making sure that you are confronted with his words. They are so powerful. They show his whole defiance to the system. And as an audience, you are confronted with this in a very direct and intimate way. That is the film I wanted to make.”
Baldwin’s words resonate as much today in this toxic social and political climate that saw unrest in Ferguson, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United Sates. It’s as if he were watching the moments that have given our nation pause in recent years unfold in real time.
“All of these words were written 40 or 50 years ago – that’s how strong they are,” Peck said. “The way they resonate today says something about how profound and fundamental they are.”
He hopes that Baldwin’s genius will have the same impact on young people as it did on him when he picked up the book “The Fire Next Time” as a teenager growing up in Haiti.
“He never left me since then. He helped me grow,” Peck said. “He helped me structure myself. I feel like the man that I am today is in large part due to James Baldwin and his writing.”
The acclaimed filmmaker said that Baldwin also had a direct impact on his work.
“He helped me deconstruct my own profession,” Peck said. “When I started making film, I already had Baldwin in my mind and I knew the instrument – and what you can do with images, and what images can do to you.
I knew about propaganda and brainwashing because of Baldwin. By the time I became a filmmaker I was using Baldwin left and right. [Because of him] as a black filmmaker, I felt that I can tell the history from my point of view – and I had to do it in an industry that didn’t care.”
In “I Am Not Your Negro,” Baldwin’s words are made even more compelling as they are juxtaposed with images from the ugliest battles of the Civil Rights Movement and the unrest in Ferguson.
He talks about the importance of being a witness to the movement – and speaks of excessive force by police as imagery of youth protesting in Ferguson, though Baldwin died nearly 30 years before the death of Michael Brown.
“By the time I decided to make this film, I was angered by how today we ignore that somebody like him existed – and how important he is,” Peck said. “Baldwin was never afraid of losing everything. And that’s the price you pay. If we are not ready to pay that price today, then we are in trouble. We are not only missing a voice like Baldwin, we are missing the sacrifice.”
Peck hopes his film takes people back to Baldwin and the realities he forced people to confront by way of his life, his works and his contribution to dialogue on race that still rings true today.
“There’s a moment in the film where Baldwin confronts [white] America,” Peck said. “He says, ‘if you don’t realize that this story is also yours and that you invented the [n-word expletive] – and if you are not ready to take back your [n-word expletive] – then there is no way things are going to change.’”
“I Am Not Your Negro” opens in St. Louis on February 3 at The Tivoli. For more information on the film, visit http://www.iamnotyournegrofilm.com
