Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
James A. BaldwinBut it was not the room’s disorder which was frightening; it was the fact that when one began searching for the key to this disorder, one realized that it was not to be found in any of the usual places. For this was not a matter of habit or circumstance or temperament; it was a matter of punishment and grief.
James A. BaldwinThere is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now.
James A. BaldwinWords like "freedom," "justice," "democracy" are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply.
James A. Baldwin