You Mean It or You Don't: James Baldwin's Radical Challenge

By Adam Hollowell and Jamie McGhee

After a speech at UMass Amherst on February 28, 1984, James Baldwin was asked by a student: "You said that the liberal fa ade and being a liberal is not enough. Well, what is? What is necessary?" Baldwin responded, "Commitment. That is what is necessary. You mean it or you don't." Taking up that challenge and drawing from Baldwin's fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and interviews, You Mean It or You Don't will spur today's progressives from conviction to action. It is not enough, authors Hollowell and McGhee urge us, to hold progressive views on racial justice, LGBTQ+ identity, and economic inequality. True and lasting change demands a response to Baldwin's radical challenge for moral commitment. Called to move from dreams of justice to living it out in communities, churches, and neighborhoods, we can show that we truly mean it. Welcome to life with James Baldwin. It is raw and challenging, inspired and embodied, passionate, and fully awake.

• Format: Audio CD
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0C8PVJWVD
• ISBN13: 9798212407397
• Release Date: December 2022
• Publisher: Tantor Audio
• Length: 1 Pages