if beale street could talk.

This weekend I finished reading “If Beale Street Could Talk” by my favorite author and birth date twin James Baldwin. I went to see the adapted screenplay with my parents and sister when I was home for the holidays. The movie was so well done. It was so real, too real actually. I cried. I felt so emotionally connected to the characters. I felt the beauty and strength of love, black love. The intersection of love and suffering was ever present. The beauty in the story was palpable as was the pain. I felt infuriated with America. American culture. Racism. I felt infuriated with the plight of the black woman. While the movie highlighted the very real struggle of black men in America, I know that almost certainly they have us. They have Tish. They have Sharon. And sometimes way too often we only have ourselves, black women. *cue surviving R. Kelly, which I deliberately chose not to watch* because emotionally I could not…

Mr. Baldwin is such a gem. His writing takes me on the wildest, emotional journeys. His writing is real and honest and at times painful. I felt hope and courage, joy, anger and sadness on the pages. There was a depth of insight into the characters that could not fit into the movie but man oh man was it necessary to have that insight. I read the final pages in the airport waiting to board my flight from Cancun to Atlanta. I wiped tears, and eventually, I just let them fall and dry on their own. I thought of my brothers. I know Fonny. I know Tish. I know Daniel. I know Sharon. I know Frank. I know Joseph. I know Earnestine. These are my brothers. My sisters. My mother. My father. I know them so well. And unfortunately, I know America…

Kamala Harris announced her bid for Presidency today.
Kamala Harris For The People.
on MLK Day.
on my Mommy’s Birthday.
on a full-moon lunar eclipse.
I know America…
and I still have hope that she can live up to her true potential.
Someday.

up next on my reading list: finish Killing the Black Body and start Go Tell It On The Mountain because I’ve committed to reading/re-reading Baldwin’s collection. ❤️