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James Baldwin, one of the most prolific writers and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance, suggested a very specific process for escaping the crippling confines of hatred and oppression as a man of color in America. Deriving from the philosophy of existential alienation, Baldwin’s practice of Black Existentialism prescribed that black men displace themselves from their native environment, dwelling within uncomfortable solitude to forcefully strip themselves of their learned identity and develop a true definition of who they are. This process reshapes individual perspective in a way that allows black men to return to their native environment with a clear vision for how they can empower fellow black men in their communities.
Existential alienation is a philosophy emphasizing that a man is responsible for his own actions and possesses the freedom to choose both his development and destiny. It is the process of claiming control over your life. Thus, detaching from your predetermined identity provokes the transformative questions required to achieve enlightenment and discover purpose. By experiencing extreme vulnerability, a black man must inescapably confront the inner demons that fuel his self-destruction. As a result, he can run nowhere but within, incapable of blaming the known dynamics of race, nor leveraging the realities of history as an excuse to settle in conformity. The singular point Baldwin sought to make is that for black men to truly experience liberation in society, they must first be removed from that society to liberate themselves.
