1 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Good morning, Peepsen. Welcome to wok F Daily with me 2 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: your girl Danielle Moody recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 3 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,319 Speaker 1: I'm really excited about the conversation coming up next with 4 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: author Greg Garrett, who has the book The Gospel according 5 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,919 Speaker 1: to James Baldwin, which is out now. And you know, 6 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: Greg Garrett is a straight white man whose own life 7 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: has been profoundly shaped by Baldwin's work. And in this book, 8 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: you know, he talks about Baldwin's life as it has 9 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: also affected his own. And I think that you know, 10 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: for all of you who've been listening to me for 11 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: quite some time, you know that James Baldwin is so 12 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: moody that I hold in high high regard. And if 13 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: you ever watch me on TV, his picture is hanging 14 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: up behind me in my living room because I think 15 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 1: that he is one of the was one of the 16 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: most profound, prolific writers of the twentieth century. And Greg 17 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: and I get into a really great conversation about, you know, 18 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: Baldwin and why him as a straight white man, you know, 19 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: he found the need to want to write about him, 20 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: and I talk about my experience as a you know, 21 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: a queer black woman and entering into politics and also 22 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: wanting to have a reflective tone when thinking about the 23 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: times that we are living in. And so it was 24 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: just a really inspiring conversation and I hope that you 25 00:01:54,520 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: all enjoy it, folks. I am. I'm very excited to 26 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: welcome to ok F Daily for the very first time, 27 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: Greg Garrett, who I'm excited to bring on uh to 28 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: talk about one of my favorite one of my favorite 29 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:23,639 Speaker 1: writers and authors and just people the Gospel, has written 30 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: the book The Gospel according to James Baldwin. And for 31 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: those of you who listen UH to my show, you 32 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: know that I talk about James Baldwin. I quote James 33 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: Baldwin because I think that he was one of the 34 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: most thoughtful patron saints of democracy of America that I 35 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: had ever seen. So Greg tell us, you know, obviously, 36 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,519 Speaker 1: you know, for me, James Baldwin a black queer man, 37 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: I am a black queer woman who also, you know, 38 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: because of him, has felt the ability to critique America. 39 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: Yeah right. He gave those of us who believe in 40 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: the ideals of America the opportunity to say, no, no, 41 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: I critique this country because I love it. Because I 42 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: would like for it to live up to it's it's 43 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: its ideals and its vision, and it fails us time 44 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: and time again, and it's heartbreaking. So talk to us 45 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: about why Baldwin for you as a as a straight 46 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: white man, why you know, why why why Baldwin for you? 47 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 2: Well, and first, you know, Danielle, let me acknowledge. First, 48 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 2: I'm so glad to be here talking with you about 49 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 2: this figure who we love so much. Second, it is 50 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 2: so important, and it was so important to Baldwin's original audiences. 51 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: You know that he was a black man, that he 52 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 2: was a queer man, that he was a p person 53 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 2: who they could look at and see themselves represented in 54 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 2: some really important ways. And and representation is essential. It's 55 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 2: one of the things that I think a lot about 56 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 2: when I do cultural criticism and cultural theology. When you 57 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 2: when you look at the screen or at the stage 58 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,359 Speaker 2: and you don't see yourself represented, it's it's almost like 59 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 2: you don't exist. And so Baldwin. Baldwin was an essential 60 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 2: figure for all of that. But this book actually grows 61 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 2: out of a second thing, which is, without denying in 62 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 2: any way his essential identities, the recognition that great writers, 63 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 2: great artists, great feemakers do this thing which is separate 64 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 2: from their lived identities. And so I talk early in 65 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 2: the book about mister Faulkner, the you know, the great 66 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 2: Nobel Prize winning novelist, and and mister Baldwin and I 67 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 2: both had our issues with him. M Faulkner, like many writers, 68 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 2: was so much better on the page than he was 69 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 2: as a human being. But mister Faulkner talked about how 70 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 2: great artists speak out of their postage stamp of land, 71 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 2: that that loved identity, right. So, like, you know, I 72 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 2: was born in Oklahoma, I grew up in Georgia, North Carolina. 73 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 2: You know, I experienced racism in the schools that I 74 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 2: went to as a kid, and and those things shape 75 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 2: who I am as a fiction writer. As a nonfiction 76 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 2: writer is at theologian. But if I'm doing my job 77 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 2: in the same way that mister Baldwin did his job, 78 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 2: then then my identity as a straight white male, middle 79 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 2: class Christian is not the limitation of who I'm able 80 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 2: to talk to. And what Baldwin does in his work 81 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 2: is you're well aware, is he reaches out to every 82 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 2: every part of the human family. Yeah, and he recognizes 83 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 2: the essential humanity of every one of us. And you know, 84 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 2: one of the reasons that I started the book with 85 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 2: a chapter on Baldwin's theories about art and with Baldwin's 86 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 2: literary criticism is that, you know, as important as he 87 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: thought it was to advance the cause and to work 88 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 2: towards justice and equity, he said that art that only 89 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 2: did that, art that didn't create a fully rounded picture 90 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 2: of its human beings was a failure. And so that's 91 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 2: what I admire about him as a fiction writer, it's 92 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 2: what I admire about him as a critic and theologian, 93 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 2: and I do think of him as a theologian, and 94 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 2: it's what I admire about his activism and his advocacy, 95 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 2: because at the end of the day, he understood that 96 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 2: we are so much more alike than we are different. 97 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 2: And even though at the beginning of the book I 98 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 2: talk about the Venn diagrams that he and I inhabit, 99 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 2: and there's only the tiniest bit of space, you know, 100 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 2: once you narrow down all those curs where theoretically James 101 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 2: Baldwin and I operate on the same you know, same plane. 102 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 2: And yet it was very clear to him that he 103 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 2: and I are so much more like than we are different, 104 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 2: and that love is going to triumph in the end, 105 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 2: and the things that we think that separate us are 106 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 2: going to fall away. And I, you know, I can't 107 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 2: get about a bed in the morning if I don't 108 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 2: believe that in my heart of. 109 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: Hearts, you know, and and and that is so true 110 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: right and reticent to the moment that we are living in. 111 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: You know, there are some people who their work, their 112 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: speech don't carry the test of time. Right that you can, 113 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: you can you can look at them and say, ah, 114 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: well that you know that made sense for the moment. 115 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: I think that what makes Baldwin such an immense figure 116 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: and remaining such an immense figure, is that he really 117 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: was not looking just at the conditions of the time 118 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: that he was living in, but looking at the human 119 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: condition and as as as a bigger piece of it all. 120 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: I think one of the things that he had said 121 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: when speaking about kind of when speaking about whiteness, right, 122 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: and this idea that black and white people are created 123 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: and looked at differently, and really looking at it through 124 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: the lens of media, is that black people have always 125 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: had to look at white people. Right. Everything is about 126 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: is about what is mainstream, what is normal is always 127 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: measured against what is white. Right, And he had said 128 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: that white people never have to look at us, right, 129 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: they never have to understand us as complete and total 130 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: human beings, which is what makes it easier right to dehumanize, right. 131 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: And so I asked this question to you, which is 132 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: as we're living inside of this moment, but you're also 133 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,959 Speaker 1: in this very reflective space having written this book right 134 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: about the complexity and the layered person that is James Baldwin. 135 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: You know, how do you see what he stated about 136 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: the human condition? How do you see that as continuing 137 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: to be true? And if there are any solutions that 138 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: we have experienced, even for a brief time, that he 139 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: had offered up in his lifetime. 140 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 2: I'm so glad that you just asked that, Daniel. I 141 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 2: am just back from a weekend in Washington, d C. 142 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:49,319 Speaker 2: Where I was at the National Cathedral. And I don't 143 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 2: know if this has crossed your radar, but a few 144 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 2: years ago the National Cathedral decided to remove these windows 145 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 2: from the nave, the worship space, that were done by 146 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 2: the Daughters of the Confederacy, And I mean, you know, 147 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 2: heads explode just at that sentence. So these windows were 148 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 2: donated in nineteen fifty two, nineteen fifty three, you know, 149 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,199 Speaker 2: right in the middle of the civil rights movement, and 150 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 2: it's you know, it's a very active and you know 151 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 2: and ticket antagonistic act of the Daughters of the Confederacy 152 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 2: to say we want to put these you know, these 153 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 2: Confederate saints in the space of the Nation's Church. And 154 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 2: so after Mother Emmanuel, the dean of the cathedral said 155 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 2: we we can't continue to house these windows. And so 156 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 2: this weekend the windows had been taken out a couple 157 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 2: of years ago, but a new set of windows were 158 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 2: dedicated and a worship service and celebration came along with that. 159 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 2: Henry Lewis Gates did the reading from the Book of Romans, 160 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 2: Justice Katanji Brown Jackson Jackson from the Letter from Birmingham Jail. 161 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 2: And I mean like there are a thousand of us 162 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 2: there in the cathedral celebrating these new windows, which are 163 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,559 Speaker 2: a new vision, a new voice that has been denied 164 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,959 Speaker 2: in the Nation's Church since its founding. One of the 165 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:20,679 Speaker 2: most important parts of the work that I do in 166 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 2: this book on Baldwin is a part of what I do. 167 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 2: I go out and talk to people who look like me, yeah, 168 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 2: about race, And you don't have those victories every day. 169 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 2: And I hear that in your question. But there are 170 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 2: moments of hope, and there are moments of movement when, 171 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 2: as Baldwin asked us to do, we face up to 172 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,959 Speaker 2: our history and acknowledge it and tell the truth about it, 173 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 2: And when people who look like me not only acknowledge it, 174 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 2: but repent of it and apologize for it and say 175 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 2: what can we do to make some small movement forward? 176 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 2: And so I've seen that in some of the spaces 177 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:04,840 Speaker 2: that I've been a part of over the last couple 178 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 2: of years. And I saw it this last weekend, and 179 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 2: I mean it was a celebration of a victory for 180 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 2: inclusion and for conversation and for justice. And like, I 181 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 2: feel like I can walk another couple of miles down 182 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 2: the road having witnessed this. But it all comes back 183 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 2: to Baldwin's stuff. I was also at the Museum of 184 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 2: African American History and Culture on Friday of last week 185 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 2: and there's this big thing from Baldwin on the major 186 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 2: wall in the museum about our history. You know, we 187 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 2: have to face up to it. We are literally you know, 188 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 2: we inhabit our history, and if we don't deal with it, 189 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 2: then you know, it will have its way with us. 190 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 2: And so for me, that is the big thing that 191 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 2: Baldwin teaches us. It's truth telling and then it's compassion. 192 00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 2: And toward the end of the book, I also point 193 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 2: out something that I think about almost every day. Baldwin, 194 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 2: toward the end of his life and a couple of interviews, says, 195 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 2: the sum total of my wisdom is this, we can 196 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 2: do better. 197 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, And I'm like, yeah. 198 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 2: Please God. And particularly for people who look like me 199 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 2: and who live in a privileged space, Baldwin offers us 200 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 2: this wisdom and this encouragement and this compassion, you know, 201 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 2: because it's not out of hate. It's like you know, 202 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 2: in the beginning essay and the Fire. Next time, when 203 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 2: he's writing to his nephew James, he says, you know, James, 204 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 2: you have to love them, these innocent and by that 205 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 2: I think he means ignorant, but also true. People are 206 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,359 Speaker 2: caught in their own history. Yeah, and we can't advance 207 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 2: until they advance. So, you know, end of the day, 208 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 2: Baldwin is one of my favorite writers, and I don't 209 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 2: talk about him anymore as a gay writer or a 210 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 2: black writer. He is like Spike Lee. You know, I 211 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 2: don't talk about as a black director. James Baldwin is 212 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 2: one of the greatest writers in our history. And those 213 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 2: seven pages, which are you know, his letter to his 214 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 2: nephew at the beginning of the fire next time, I 215 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 2: will hold up to any seven pages written by any 216 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 2: American writer. I mean, I think that much of him 217 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 2: as a writer. And then you add in activist and 218 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 2: advocate and just this figure of courage who did a 219 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 2: whole bunch of things that were crazy, scary, and yet 220 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 2: he did them because he believed he needed to be 221 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 2: a witness. 222 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 1: I always love the sentiment of him being a witness, 223 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: you know, to what is happening. And I think that 224 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: good writers are right. They're both a witness and a 225 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: mirror for us to see the world through. Right. And 226 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,479 Speaker 1: you know, when you talk about history and the importance 227 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: of history being able to create empathy, we're at a time, 228 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: greg right now where history is being rewritten and erased, 229 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: right where legislation is literally has been passed to ensure white. 230 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 2: Comfort in my state of Texas, in Florida. 231 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: And Florida across the South, and so for you, right, 232 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: knowing that the purpose of history, right is just not 233 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: to repeat it. It is to create a sense of 234 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: empathy and understanding about the human condition, right, both our 235 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: potential right and our distractions right from ourselves and from 236 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: our character and from our moral standings. And so what 237 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: comes up for you and what does it mean for 238 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: you to be putting out a book in this time 239 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: when a bald would have been banned and is probably banned, 240 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: and it is banned, right, So please. 241 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 2: Well, first, I have had this conversation with my students 242 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 2: here at Baylor, and Baylor, of course, is a private 243 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 2: school in Texas, So you know, I look at colleagues 244 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 2: at the University of Texas, the flagship school of our state, 245 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 2: who are starting to wrestle with these questions and these issues. 246 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 2: And I have said, I said to a reporter from 247 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 2: Fox News not too long ago, if if I taught 248 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 2: at one of our state schools, it's very likely I 249 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 2: would get fired. 250 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent. 251 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 2: And so one of the first things I mean, just 252 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 2: directly to your question, which was actually posed like a historian. 253 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 2: I don't know what your major. 254 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: Was, political science, but thank you. 255 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 2: My historian friends would say Yay, she got the whole 256 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 2: history thing. When when we don't tell the truth about 257 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 2: who we are and this is personal, you know. I 258 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,879 Speaker 2: I think about the former president who can't tell the 259 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,400 Speaker 2: truth about who he is as a human being, and 260 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 2: how detrimental that is not only to him but to 261 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 2: all of us. I think about people in my life. 262 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:15,959 Speaker 2: I mean, and I can't name names because like you know, 263 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 2: we're we're on we're on the air. But I think 264 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 2: about people who are unable to face who they are 265 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 2: and be honest about where they come from and about 266 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: their failures and about their their mistakes, and so are 267 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 2: unable to correct them. And those people are trapped in 268 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 2: the same way that Baldwin talks about white people being trapped. Yeah. 269 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 2: So if if forever black people have been the way 270 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 2: that you measure whiteness, and uh if the lost cause 271 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 2: myth for example is UH is partly built around you know, 272 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 2: however difficult your life might be, if you're a poor 273 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 2: white person in the American South or anywhere in America, 274 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 2: in the Midwest, any place at least you're not black, 275 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 2: and you you can you can set that blackness as 276 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 2: a loadstar. And so Baldwin asked his nephew to think 277 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 2: about this. What would it be like if you woke 278 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 2: up in the morning and you looked at the sky 279 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,159 Speaker 2: and everything was different, you know, the sky, you know, 280 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 2: the sun was out, but the stars were blazing. It 281 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 2: would freak you out. And so he had this incredible compassion, 282 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 2: you know, this recognition that asking people to be honest 283 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 2: about their history is going to shake up who they 284 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 2: are because it's it's going to force them to tell 285 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 2: the truth and acknowledge things. But one of the things, 286 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 2: and I had mentioned to your producer while ago, that 287 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 2: Robert Jones uh is coming to Baylor next week and 288 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,239 Speaker 2: we're going to do an event together here. Robbie's new 289 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 2: book about the roots of white supremacy is so good 290 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 2: at telling our historical truth. Like I went to school, 291 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 2: I went to high school in Oklahoma. We did not 292 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 2: learn about also race massacre. We didn't even hear it 293 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 2: called the Tulsa race riots. We just didn't learn about it. 294 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 2: And if you don't learn about it, then how can 295 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 2: you correct it. And it just when you don't deal 296 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 2: with history, particularly history that's uncomfortable, then it just allows 297 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,360 Speaker 2: the status quo to be maintained. And Baldwin talks about 298 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 2: the status quo a lot, and he says, it's already 299 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 2: hard enough to change the status quo because you know, 300 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:28,680 Speaker 2: as doctor King said, people you know who are in 301 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 2: a position of privilege, you don't want to give that up, right, 302 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 2: But if you don't even tell the truth about it, 303 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,400 Speaker 2: and if you don't even say, here are the reasons 304 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 2: that people in privilege need to reckon with who they 305 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 2: are and what they've done, then how can anything ever change? 306 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 2: And that that, for me, is the distressing thing about 307 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 2: the legislation you're talking about, and honestly why I feel 308 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 2: not only do I need to write about it, but 309 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 2: I need to speak. I need to preach. I need 310 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,400 Speaker 2: to get out there in every venue that I can 311 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 2: and stand there looking like me and say, hey, people 312 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,679 Speaker 2: who look like me, we got to think about this stuff. 313 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 2: You know. 314 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: I think that it's so important Greg for white people 315 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 1: like yourself to take on the role of shepherd right 316 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: in trying to corral yeah, and trying to corral people 317 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 1: outside of their own self interests and privilege, right, Because 318 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: what I believe to be true is that the reason 319 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: why we're at a time when history is being erased again, 320 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 1: where books are being burned again, Where you're seeing this 321 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: critical pushback in and our public education system being a 322 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 1: battleground for social justice again, is because of the notable 323 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: progress that has been made, the critical thought that has 324 00:20:54,600 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: been raised, the opportunities that we saw presented through the 325 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: historical the historic election of the first black president, right 326 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 1: through you know, through people from marginalized communities sitting inside 327 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: as secretaries of you know, of transportation, as leaders in 328 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: our government. Like this is why this is happening. You 329 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't see a need for this kind of white lash 330 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: and bigotry if, in fact, young people's minds haven't already 331 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,399 Speaker 1: been woke right to the fact that, you know what 332 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: this system isn't just this place is not right. It 333 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: isn't okay that by virtue of my birth and whiteness, 334 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,040 Speaker 1: that I have more privilege and opportunity than my friend 335 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: down the street or my neighbor, you know, or what 336 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 1: have you. And so you know, my question for you, 337 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: the last question I have for you is, you know, 338 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: Baldwin's footprint on this country, on this world is enormous, 339 00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: is cemented, is important, and what message do you think 340 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 1: that he would continue to convey if, in fact, he 341 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: was still with us in this moment of great hopelessness, right, 342 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: because that's where we are. We've had tremendous progress, but 343 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: the pain that we are seeing right now, in the 344 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: cruelty that is being wielded by Republican politicians, is creating 345 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: a sense of hopelessness. So what do you think his 346 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:33,479 Speaker 1: message would be? 347 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 2: Oh, and Danielle, that is such a good question. I 348 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 2: actually had a conversation with the BBC earlier today and 349 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 2: I was asked something similar and what I had said 350 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 2: to them, and what I confess to them is that, 351 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 2: you know, as I look at where the world is 352 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 2: now in this post Trumpian reality, post Trumpian, please God, 353 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 2: but it feels darker to me than at any time 354 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 2: during my lifetime. You know. And I'm sixty one years old, 355 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:00,880 Speaker 2: you know, I was born in nineteen sixty one, grew 356 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 2: up in the sixties, was fairly cognizant of what was 357 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,159 Speaker 2: going on. And you know, for all the excitement of 358 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,919 Speaker 2: Barack Obama being elected, I do really think that Abram 359 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 2: Kennedy has it right, which is this is this is 360 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 2: not a you know, like a triangle of narrative that 361 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 2: we're used to. It's it's jagged, you know, And as 362 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 2: you were saying, Barack Obama's election and a more inclusive 363 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 2: society scared the crap out of a whole lot of 364 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,360 Speaker 2: white people. And so that's how we end up with, 365 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 2: you know what the Atlantic called mister Trump as you know, 366 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 2: the great white supremacist president. 367 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:42,919 Speaker 1: Yeah. 368 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 2: So here's kind of where I land on this a lot. 369 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 2: There are two late life works by Baldwin that I 370 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,959 Speaker 2: look at. He was asked by Playboy magazine to go 371 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 2: to Atlanta and investigate the Atlanta child murders, and the 372 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,919 Speaker 2: essay that he wrote is kind of rambling. It's not, 373 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,159 Speaker 2: by any means his most like successful literary work, and 374 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:04,919 Speaker 2: there are times in it where he seems to be 375 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 2: so daunted and so lost and so hopeless. And at 376 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,919 Speaker 2: the end of it, he comes back to that question 377 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,640 Speaker 2: of love again and he says, you know, I think 378 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 2: about the church that I grew up in, where we 379 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 2: were told to love each other, and he says, whoever 380 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 2: else did not believe that I did? And I think 381 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 2: about that a lot, you know, in terms of like 382 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 2: trying to bridge some of these chasms in our reality 383 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 2: at this time. And then I also think about hopefulness 384 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 2: in connection with the last work that he was writing 385 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 2: at the end of his life, which was a play 386 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 2: called The Welcome Table. And you know, Baldwin loved black spirituals, 387 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 2: he loved gospel music, he loved the blues. I know 388 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 2: that he was referring to, you know, I'm going to 389 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 2: sit at the Welcome Table one of these days, which 390 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 2: is one of the songs that I learned in the 391 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 2: African American Church that rescued me. And the image that 392 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 2: he had at the Welcome Table was one that he 393 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 2: talked about throughout his life. Someday, he said, you know, 394 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 2: and whether that's in this reality, please God or not. 395 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,680 Speaker 2: But someday we are all going to come to this 396 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 2: space where we can sit at the table and we're 397 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 2: not going to see those received identities. I'm not going 398 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,159 Speaker 2: to be a straight white Christian man. I'm going to 399 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:27,840 Speaker 2: be a human. I'm going to be a child of God, 400 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 2: you know, even as we might put it, and we're 401 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 2: going to sit together at the table. All of us 402 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,920 Speaker 2: are going to sit together at the table, and we're 403 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 2: going to be seen and known and loved. And that's 404 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,919 Speaker 2: a central part of my faith and you know, the 405 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,159 Speaker 2: crazy thing is that I think it remained a central 406 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 2: part of Baldwin's faith even though he fled the organized 407 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 2: church as a teenager. Up to the end of his life, 408 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 2: He's still believed in that possibility. And you know, I 409 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 2: talked about, like, what do I need to get out 410 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 2: of bed in the morning. I need to believe in hope, 411 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 2: you know, I need to believe that change is possible, 412 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 2: that we can do better, and I need to have 413 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 2: some pragmatic ways to think about that, which for me 414 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,159 Speaker 2: is a white man is We've got to do some 415 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 2: truth telling. We've got to do some repentance. We've got 416 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,640 Speaker 2: to create relationships with people who have been marginalized. We've 417 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 2: got to learn who they are and learn what they 418 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,120 Speaker 2: need and how we can move forward, because I mean, 419 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 2: another problem that white guys have is that we want 420 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 2: to go in and fix things that we don't know 421 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 2: anything about. What Baldwin has given me as a person 422 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 2: who looks and lives like I do, is all of 423 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:42,680 Speaker 2: these thoughts around love and hope and the idea that 424 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 2: you know, at the end of the day, we are 425 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:47,360 Speaker 2: so much more alike than we are different, and that 426 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 2: there is possibility and you know, I believed I believe 427 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,679 Speaker 2: this so much more strongly when Barack Obama stood on 428 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,280 Speaker 2: the steps of that Ye do when I look at 429 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 2: the Republican debates. But I also just got back from 430 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 2: Bill Clinton's Presidential library and I was watching some of 431 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 2: the video there and it was I mean, it brought 432 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,159 Speaker 2: tears to my eyes. Whatever it is you know that 433 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 2: you want to say about Bill Clinton, but that that phrase, 434 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,640 Speaker 2: I still believe in a place called hope. And that's 435 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 2: what Baldwin gives me every time I read him, every 436 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,120 Speaker 2: time I hear his voice, every time I think about him, 437 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 2: I hope that we can do and be better. 438 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I will. Well, it was Bill Clinton that 439 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: said there is nothing that is wrong with America that 440 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: can't be sixed by what is right by America. Yeah, 441 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 1: that's it, And that is what And that's actually one 442 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: of my favorite that's one of that's one of my 443 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: favorites that I that I still I still with my 444 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: mustard seed of hope that I still hold on to. 445 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:54,199 Speaker 1: Greg Garrett, this was such a wonderful conversation, folks. The 446 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: book is the Gospel according to James Baldwin, and it 447 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: is out now and I encourage every one to go 448 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: and get a copy. Greg. I hope that you'll come 449 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: back and join us again on WOKF. 450 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 2: Daniel, I would love that. Thank you so much for 451 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 2: our time. 452 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,399 Speaker 1: That is it for me today. Dear friends on wok 453 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: F as always power to the people and to all 454 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 1: the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.