I Am Not Your Negro

Baldwin says that America’s infrastructure would not exist without the labor of enslaved Black people, yet White Americans are unwilling to accept that Black people built the country. 

In a 1963 interview, singer and activist Harry Belafonte speaks about marching in Washington, and says the civil rights movement largely benefited White profiteers.

Baldwin says America encourages both simplicity and immaturity. He remembers finding out that Malcolm X was murdered.

On the Dick Cavett Show, Baldwin says there’s no way to argue with Black people who feel White people only intend to kill them after the end of slavery. He notes that White people are applauded for demanding liberty, while Black people are condemned for the same.

In 1967, Black power activist H. Rap Brown says violence is a necessary “part of American culture” (81). 

An excerpt from The Land We Love, a 1960 government film, tells the viewer to appreciate America’s beauty.

At a rally, Martin Luther King, Jr. calls for America to stop bombing Vietnam. 

Baldwin says America is incredibly prosperous and irresponsible, with great gaps between different communities. He observes that mass entertainment only serves to subdue the public. 

On a talk show, a White mother says she doesn’t want her daughters to have Black partners because she thinks they’ll be looked down upon.