Quote –
“These were not really my creations, they did not contain my history; I might search in them in vain forever for any reflection of myself. I was an interloper; this was not my heritage” – James Baldwin (from Scott Newstok, “How to Think Like Shakespeare”, 146)
Comment –
When reading Newstok’s “Of Freedom” chapter this quote from James Baldwin screamed the work of Byrd to me. The concepts of having a history that is exclusionary, not containing the contributions of certain people, as well as, when Newstok discusses Baldwin further, the idea of creating your one history, of going back and finding it, of making it, are both prevalent in each piece. Both Byrd and Baldwin are discussing histories altered because of racism, and I think Baldwin’s words, “I was an interloper; this was not my heritage”, expresses the strong connection and powerful passion behind this mission, as well as reflects those emotions of Byrd in his work. I myself can not begin to understand these feelings and I probably never will, but the first step of rewriting history for any reason is explain why you are doing so and back that reasoning up, of which I believe Baldwin accomplishes in this quote, and what Byrd also goes into more detail about in his own work.
Question –
A question that arises in my mind after slipping into this field of study is, and as I believe Byrd touches on, should the newly rediscovered history be combined with the already established history? Should it remain separate as it was previously portrayed? Does it gain or lose strength and meaning if either combined or kept separate?
