By Abigail Giron Marroquin
Go Tell It on the Mountain
If Beale Street Could Talk
Giovanni鈥檚 Room
All these books are American classics written by the one and only James Baldwin. On Tuesday, Oct 22, I had the privilege of getting to know Baldwin through 越南直播鈥檚 Necessary Voices event featuring Karen Thorsen and Douglas Dempsey, Producer/Director and Co-Producer, respectively, of the documentary James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket.
The 35-year-old film recounts Baldwin鈥檚 life, legacy, and literary journey. It was Thorsen鈥檚 first feature film and has been presented at countless film festivals and garnered multiple awards. The film itself is made up of clips from Baldwin鈥檚 life, as well as interviews with those who knew the famous author.
Instead of lecturing the audience of UB staff and students, Thorsen opened up a conversation, giving the audience the opportunity to ask questions. One of the questions asked by the audience was, 鈥淲hat do you think Baldwin鈥檚 legacy is today?鈥�
Thorsen suggested: 鈥淲ell, I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 you guys.鈥�
Thorsen went on to explain that when she first coordinated with Baldwin to work on the film, he was a college professor getting poor reviews for his literary work. 鈥淗is focus was on today鈥檚 legacy, which was those students, and the project that we began working on was what he cared about most: issues of progress. I鈥檓 here to guide you back to his books, and make you think about his message.鈥�
During the second half of the discussion, Thorsen shared various quotes that emphasize Baldwin’s messages toward the world. A quote that she says 鈥渟truck鈥� her is the following: 鈥淎s long as you insist on thinking you鈥檙e white, I鈥檓 going to be forced to think I鈥檓 Black.鈥� Thorsen explained that this quote implies that adding a label to a person pushes them to incorporate a label onto themselves. At the same time, Thorsen said, 鈥淚t also is solidifying this definition that you鈥檙e giving to yourself, and often it separates us.鈥�
Toward the end of the discussion and questions, Thorsen said that the film was originally going to feature Baldwin asking one question to the children of murdered civil rights movement leaders, including the children of Martin Luther King Jr. and the daughter of Malcolm X 鈥� 鈥淲as it worth it that your father was assassinated?鈥�
This question left the audience without a response. Since Baldwin died before he and Thorsen had a chance to work on the film project together, the question is left unasked and unanswered, echoing silently among us.
Events such as the screening of James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket enrich the educational experience 鈥� and campus culture 鈥� for the students who call UB their home. By participating in these critical conversations with experts, we prepare to enter professional spaces in an increasingly diverse and globally connected world 鈥� refining, challenging, and broadening our perspectives.
