Greetings,

The brilliant American novelist, poet, critic, essayist, and playwright James Baldwin was born August 2, 1924. Though it’s a bit belated I wanted to honor his presence in the world by passing along to you this “debate” between Baldwin and William F. Buckley, Jr. in 1965 at The Cambridge Union, Cambridge University, England.

If you actually watch the video you will see why I put the word “debate” in quotations. The question on the table is, “Has the American Dream Been Achieved at the Expense of the American Negro?”.

Buckley obviously is at a loss for words when confronted with Baldwin’s eloquent summary of the situation of African Americans in white America.  Sadly, his words still  resonate.