'I Am Not Your Negro' should be required viewing for everyone

When I was either a freshman or sophomore in high school, I can't remember which, a history teacher of mine was insightful enough to realize that I might be uniquely suited to do a project on James Baldwin.

I knew his distinctive face from somewhere, had seen glimpses of him, but assumed I had little in common with a chain-smoking, diminutive gay man. But once I started diving into his work -- and binge watching an excellent PBS American Experience documentary made about him shortly after his death -- I became hooked. I threw myself into the assignment like none other I'd ever had -- I was a B student who rarely applied themselves, I'm sad to say.

I was someone who always felt attracted to the fierce intelligence and courage of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, but like so many black Americans -- particularly those of us born in the wake of their tragic deaths -- I struggled with which of their approaches to seeking racial justice would have best suited me. In my mind, I could see the nobility and the shrewdness of Dr. King's non violent approach but my fiery nature and penchant for blunt speech put my heart firmly in Malcolm's corner.

With James Baldwin, I discovered a kindred spirit with a sensibility that was capable of fusing the two philosophies seamlessly. This was a man who was close to both Malcolm and Martin, saw both of their virtues and faults, and walked a line between having hope for white people, as well as disdain for them.

I became a Baldwin junkie. I devoured many of his works. For years I would have his quotes and picture displayed on my bedroom wall. He had a kind of searing intensity -- not a single word he spoke or wrote felt wasted or impulsive. I probably didn't realize it then, but in retrospect, he helped me realize that I wanted to be a writer.

So needless to say, I was pre-disposed to feel some type of way about I Am Not Your Negro, an acclaimed new (although it was technically released last year) documentary which weaves archival footage with modern images, and excerpts from an unfinished manuscript Baldwin was composing, which was an emotionally fraught recollection of the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Samuel L. Jackson gives voice to these passages, and it's a different sound than I've ever heard from him -- weary, even tender. This is not the bombastic actor of the Capitol One commercials or far too many B-movies. This is a reminder that Jackson is an incredibly accomplished actor and he lends this project a great deal of gravitas.

One of the many unforgettable images from I Am Not Your Negro

It has arrived after two other masterful treatises on race -- Ava DuVernay's 13th and the epic, multi-part OJ: Made in America. It is impossible to quantify and compare these projects. I will only say that I Am Not Your Negro felt like the most personal to me. Perhaps, because of the focus on Baldwin, his exasperation, his biting wit -- especially in the face of self-congratulatory white liberals. What makes this film truly a masterpiece, and deserving of all the accolades it's getting, is how startlingly fresh and relevant all of his positions and observations continue to be.

I watched the film in a mostly white, older skewing audience. But there were a handful of young people there too, who I presume may not have been too familiar with Baldwin, or at least not seen some of clips in the film (which I was familiar with from my past). I watched as they nodded along with him or murmured their agreement during his indictment of white apathy, and conclusion that this blissful ignorance was the bane of black life.

There are many themes and ideas conveyed in this extraordinary movie -- but that may be the most prescient one. The modern racial divide is more about institutions not just words and actions, it's about denial, not necessarily inherent deviousness.

In one sequence -- which drew spontaneous applause in the audience I was in -- Baldwin debates an avuncular Yale professor on race matters. The professor makes an argument that persists to this day, on the right especially, that by speaking about "groups" and focusing on identity -- you are perpetuating divisions and exacerbating mutual mistrust.

With the precision of surgeon, Baldwin destroys his argument -- pointing out, quite rightly, that for so many people of color, this is a matter of life and death. Our lives are in danger because of white peoples' prejudices, their indifference, their cultural advantages and privileges. We don't have a choice but to assert our humanity and demand equality, because the other alternative is no future at all.

Baldwin concluded several decades ago that America was in for a reckoning for the racial sins of its past. He didn't know when or how, but he predicted that it would be bloody. The film's incendiary images of confrontational protests and police brutality from the past few years suggest perhaps that moment has finally come.

Baldwin at his most badass

For Americans, even those who wholeheartedly support the current occupant of the White House, this film should be required viewing, because it asks us to ask ourselves some important questions -- about why we have accepted the false notion that somehow people of color have less value, about why we choose to live such different lives in public and private, and why we have embraced a culture of solipsism at a moment when collective effort to fight global challenges has never been more vital.

I've always believed that the difference between a good film and a great film is it's ability to make you think, to linger with you once the credits roll. I Am Not a Negro is a film I won't soon forget, and one I feel I will need to revisit and have a dialogue with in the years to come.

Of course, like 13th and OJ: Made in America, it is just a movie, and one that will likely only reach a limited audience. The true ability to make change rests in people, the complex, sensitive, stubborn people of these United States.

It's kind of like losing weight. You can take pills and diet, but you aren't gonna lose the pounds unless you exercise. We can watch movies, vote for Obama, listen to socially conscious hip-hop, but until we start talking to each other, caring about each other and recognizing where we and our ancestors have erred, we are doomed to live in a vicious cycle of hate for the rest of our lives.