Negroes Are Anti-Semitic Because They're Anti-White Excerpt on Jewish Suffering

…One does not wish, in short, to be told by an American Jew that his suffering is as great as the American Negro’s suffering. It isn’t and one knows that it isn’t from the very tone in which he assures you that it is…

The Jew’s suffering is recognized as part of the moral history of the world and the Jew is recognized as a contributor to the world’s history: this is not true for the blacks. Jewish history, whether or not one can say it is honored, is certainly known: the black history has been blasted, maligned and despised. The Jew is a white man, and when white men rise up against oppression, they are heroes: when black men rise, they have reverted to their native savagery. The uprising in the Warsaw ghetto was not described as a riot, nor were the participants maligned as hoodlums: the boys and girls in Watts and Harlem are thoroughly aware of this, and it certainly contributes to their attitude toward the Jews…

James Baldwin, “Negroes Are Anti-Semitic Because They’re Anti-White,” New York Times Magazine, April 9, 1967.

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Negroes Are Anti-Semitic Because They're Anti-White Excerpt on Jewish Suffering." (Viewed on April 25, 2024) <http://jwa.org/media/negroes-are-anti-semitic-because-theyre-anti-white-excerpt-on-jewish-suffering>.