Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own

The term “elsewhere” refers to a physical or metaphorical place to recharge. Elsewhere allows space to breathe and live apart from smothering assumptions. Elsewhere also affords a different vantage point, allowing people to ready themselves to reenter the fight for racial justice. Istanbul functioned as Baldwin’s elsewhere, providing him with a deeper understanding of his past, language, and individuality, as well as allowing him to bear witness to the workings of American society. Glaude argues that reimagining the country demands an elsewhere—a physical or metaphorical place of rest and love to face the difficult task of ending racism.

“The lie” is a set of beliefs and practices related to racism is the US, all of which promote the idea that White lives matter more than the lives of everyone else: “According to these lies, black people are essentially inferior, less human than white people, and therefore deserving of their particular station in American life” (7). The lie also promotes falsehoods about American history, presenting the country as fundamentally good and innocent, and dismissing its bad deeds as mistakes corrected on the path to a more perfect union. Baldwin elucidated the lie throughout his career, from its origins in the writings of the Founding Fathers to his day. Glaude analyzes Baldwin’s works to demonstrate that the lie remains as pernicious as ever today.