I Am Not Your Negro' Review and Cheat Sheet

February 5, 2017

This weekend I went to see I Am Not Your Negro​, a documentary directed by Raoul Peck, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, and written by the late James Baldwin. The movie is based around Baldwin’s 1979 letter to his literary agent Jay Acton about Remember This House. The book was to be Baldwin’s memoir about the assassinations of his three close friends-- Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. However, by the time he died in 1987, the book remained unfinished, with only a 30-page manuscript left behind.

​Peck in a way completes the book, using Jackson’s voice to read Baldwin’s letters, supplements the narration with clips from various TV interviews and university lectures, and connects both with an interesting analysis of American 20th-century films and images from today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement to add to the conversation of race in America. Watch  a clip from the film below:

[VIDEO EMBED: https://youtu.be/nAmL3F5uylo] 

The film definitely lived up to the positive reviews. It takes a handful of the most influential Civil Rights leaders and connects it to the present-day to show that America isn’t exactly as progressed as we think we are. I Am Not Your Negro is a necessary documentary that forces everyone to take a long look in the mirror and figure out “what your role is in this country and what your future is in it.” Baldwin’s lowkey sarcasm is evident throughout the movie, which I found funny and slightly lightened the mood in the theater.

I will say that compared to others’ reviews on Twitter, I wasn’t as emotionally provoked by the first half of the film. Not to say that this topic doesn’t make me angry, because it definitely does. I was mostly shocked at the images from the funerals of Baldwin’s three slain friends. That close perspective on all three deaths was the one thing that was new to me. It wasn’t until the clip of Baldwin’s television appearance with philosopher Paul Weiss, in which Baldwin rebuts Weiss’ argument that Baldwin talks about race too much, that I felt the most passionate (I was sitting in my seat like “YES THANK YOU! LET THEM KNOW JAMES!!!).

 This moment accurately represents the conversation between Black people and the majority of America that still exists today. In general, I liked how the film brings up how deeply rooted racism is ingrained in American culture, and how people are more willing to maintain power than confront what has become blatantly obvious again with this past presidential election. Something Baldwin said that stuck with me is "I can only conclude what they feel through their institutions." I feel as though this is the biggest part of why racism in America is still so pertinent today, it has more so to do with the institution rather than people's feelings alone. I also agree with Rolling Stone in that Peck’s, use of Jackson’s narration brought Baldwin’s words to life in a really interesting way.

You can view my interactive cheat sheet for I Am Not Your Negro here. Click the photos and quote for sources and to see articles that explain each topic further.

–kf