James Baldwin — "I can't be a pessimist because I'm alive. To be a pessimist means that you have …"
I can't be a pessimist because I'm alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter.
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More from James Baldwin
"The only way to police a moral universe is to make it happen."
"If I am not what you say I am, then you are not who you think you are."
"Color is not a human or personal reality; it is a political reality."
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"It is a fact that I am a writer. It is not a fact that I am a Negro writer."
Details
A frequently quoted statement from interviews, emphasizing his commitment to life and struggle despite the bleak realities he often described, a personal justification for hope and engagement.
Date: Approx. 1960s-1980s
WisdomVerification
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Found in 1 providers: gemini
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