I Am Not Your Negro

— In the mid-1970s, James Baldwin wrote thirty pages, outlining a book about the lives and deaths of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Those notes, and words from Baldwin’s other writings, form the narration for this excellent film. I’m reluctant to admit it but part of me has started turning a blind eye to the recurring images favored by most recent documentary films aimed at diminishing my white filter when considering current black perspectives. The discussion has been inundated with images of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and, as with the larger political climate, focusing as much on blame and anger as on the larger picture and solutions—the narrative has narrowed its focus. The good news is that “I Am Not Your Negro” steps back a bit, thanks to James Baldwin’s eloquent pen, and really does make me think about race in the United States and why there is the anger. Looking at how blacks were depicted in the 1960s reminded me of ways racism was hard-wired in all of us, blacks and whites alike, and listening to Baldwin as he considers the American identity puts things into perspective. Sadly, while my white mind wants to think much has changed in forty years, much still remains to be changed. It's amazing how Baldwin's ideas resonate all these years later. This is a very good film. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2017.)

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[2016. 93 min. Directed by Raoul Peck. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. Featuring James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and many more.]
http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/i-am-not-your-negro-review-new-york-film-festival-james-baldwin-1201876756/