My words below, often erroneously attributed to James Baldwin by media and artists, is being used quite a bit. But many people don't know the context in which I tweeted this because, at the time, Twitter didn't have the feature that chain-links tweets in a connected series. https://twitter.com/SonofBaldwin/status/633644373423562753

I tweeted this message in response to three Black activists who were having a disagreement about how we should proceed in regard to the institutional anti-Blackness we experience in the U.S.

The disagreement got quite heated and I was merely offering the tweet as a way to remind us that we are all on the same team and that we could only be divided if we are attempting to oppress each other using classism, misogynoir, anti-LGBTQIA+ bigotry, ableism, etc.

If you are retweeting this tweet, please understand that as universal as it sounds pulled out of its context, it was, in fact, intended as a balm and rallying call for Black people in particular, tied especially to our struggles externally and internally.

In other words: This a Black quote with Black intent and Black impact for Black people. It's great if you find some universality in it, but recognize its core is Black. Thank you.

P.S. Whenever I am quoting someone else, I ALWAYS use quotation marks and attribution. Or I will indicate that I am paraphrasing and name who I'm paraphrasing from.

Also, I understand that assigning these words to James Baldwin lends them a particular kind of weight and authority. Because, let's face it: Who am I compared to James Baldwin? And I do owe Ancestor Baldwin a great debt in terms of how he helped shape me.

I say all that to say that I'm not mad that those words are being attributed to Baldwin (I'm in fact flattered). I'm just stating the truth for the record.