It's a good thing you never had the chance to debate James Baldwin.

He'd own you. He'd own me. Because he owned everyone when it came to debates.

As it is the 93rd anniversary of James Baldwin's birth, here is possibly his most famous debate. It occurred in 1965 at Cambridge University with noted conservative William F. Buckley as the opposition. The debate centered on one question: "Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?"

Simply said, Buckley had his share of victories in life, but the day he met Baldwin was not one of them.





The debate is an hour long, so odds are you won't watch it all in this modern day age of quick cuts and short attention spans. If needed, jump ahead and listen to any portion of Baldwin's eloquence, his patience, his ability to craft empathy out of knowledge.

Then click to 45:54 of the video and witness Baldwin's eyes lit afire, the gears turning internally while listening to Buckley's sanctimonious argument in a slick, syrupy, southern drawl.