Tag: James Baldwin

  • “That man who has nothing to lose:” Black Americans and Superfluousness

    “That man who has nothing to lose:” Black Americans and Superfluousness

    Long before white Americans felt like their society had abandoned them, Black Americans knew the feeling. Just like whites do today, some Black Americans responded to earlier superfluousness by “clinging to guns and religion” to use Barack Obama’s famous analysis. (cf. Kinsley gaffe) Here’s James Baldwin, describing the Nation of Islam: “I’ve come,” said Elijah,…