A review by rigbees
Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

reflective slow-paced

5.0

I have not read Baldwin. I'm white; I have not lived in America as a black person. Going into this book, I was profoundly ignorant. I can't speak about the substance of the argument that Glaude makes (I have nothing else to compare it to!), but I can say that it was moving. As a part-biography, part-analysis, part-memoir, this book takes an unflinching look at Baldwin's entire oeuvre and applies it to the contemporary moment. It is not an easy read; it talks about how the history of slavery still lingers, and how America as a whole has constantly failed to address the wounds of racism. This book is going to sit with me for a long period of time, because it cuts through layers of history and forced me to truly look.