James Baldwin was an extremely important voice on the racial issues in America. Actually, he was an American novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and last but not least, he was also an activist. Among all his works, there was left an unfinished manuscript, Remember this house, that was adapted in 2016 into an Academy Award-nominated documentary film, I Am Not Your Negro.
In fact, I Am Not Your Negro scrutinizes, in a brilliant way, the history of racism in the United States through the civil-rights movement, focusing on his personal relationship to Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. Honestly, I believe that this is definitely one of the best films about racism of all time (as far as I am concerned, it was the best I have ever seen).
Indeed, American race issues are not new to cinema, having already been represented multiple times on the big screen. But despite the high number of films of this type, I Am Not Your Negro manages to stand out and be different to them all. I would say that the main aspect that makes this documentary so unique and singular is the fact that this is a personal story, which brings more realism and proximity to the movie. For example, it is completely different to hear about the life and death of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King through Baldwin’s words than through the words of someone who did not have a personal relationship with them. It gives us an insight into the matter in a much more realistic way.
Furthermore, this film has a very interesting and ingenious approach to make us realize that racism is not over and that it is still a problem. Well, the most gripping scenes in the film intercut clips of police brutality against black people in the 1960s with shots of similar violence being perpetrated today, using Baldwin's words to bridge the gap between the two ages. This juxtaposition starkly contrasts the series of black deaths that marked Baldwin's life during the civil-rights period with the series of deaths that mark our own calendar.
In conclusion, I Am Not Your Negro is an outstanding and a very well-conceived documentary, which not only portraits the history of racism in America in a very complex and insightful way, but it also makes us think and realize that we still have a lot to work on that problem.
Cíntia Rodrigues
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