James Baldwin on Freedom

Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety. And at such a moment, unable to see and not daring to imagine what the future will now bring forth, one clings to what one knew, or dreamed that one possessed. Yet, it is only when a man is able, without bitterness or self-pity, to surrender a dream he has long possessed that he is set free – he has set himself free – for higher dreams, for greater privileges.

James Baldwin, “Nobody Knows My Name”, 1961

Lose your identity, friends. Gain your freedom. 🚀

*Photo of James Baldwin by Richard Avedon, 1946

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