Field Note #1

I started reading “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons For Our Own” sometime in August. Actually, I started it listening to Glaude’s reading of it on Audible before deciding to purchase a physical copy of the book. I found myself to easily distracted while listening and felt the words required my full attention. It has become an important work to have with me as we navigate uncertain social and political times in the United States - something James Baldwin knew all too well and which he worked to understand and distill to the rest of us. I recommend the book, and even more I invite you to interrogate the perceptions we have about this country and come to terms with the lies we have told ourselves about how and why it all began.