Not Intent, but Impact

Early in 2017, I had the privilege of seeing the documentary I Am Not Your Negro with my classmates from MIT. This event was hosted by the Black Graduate Student Association, the Office of Multicultural Programming and the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education. There were many striking aspects of this film, and of Baldwin himself. Born in the tail end of the 80's, I was familiar with Baldwin as a part of Black Americana, but was not intimately familiar with the complex role he played as witness to the implementation of Jim Crow and the resistance during the Civil Rights movement. In the film, he called himself a witness, documenting and reflecting on the times in which he lived. Juxtapose those times with that of our own, and it is every bit frustrating and not the least bit shocking that we are not further along on the path toward equality and justice. 

One of the clips that stuck with me as I left the theater, and still reverberates in my head even now, was when Baldwin explained the subtle, but important, difference between intent and impact. Often in conversations around equity and justice, intent is used as a defense tactic- to focus on where one's heart was in an effort to deflect against accepting responsibility, or to otherwise absolve the individual (or system) of any guilt for the 'unintended' negative effects of their actions. As he states in the above clip, it is impossible to measure one's intentions, therefore making their role in the discussion of equity and justice of lesser importance. Rather, Baldwin offers that he can only measure the state of one's heart by the state of their institutions, behaviors and actions. Again, a subtle but necessary distinction in any conversation regarding equity and justice. 

It is also impossible to watch Baldwin and not to be struck by the way he presents himself, his movements, his masterful use of silence and cadence. It is almost as if he is performing his thoughts, not in a disingenuous way, but in a way that heightens his points, with an elegance that makes even the simplest concepts profound. As I expect the maturation of my black consciousness to be a lifelong process, I am glad I saw the film when I did, in the political and social context of this time. It provided me with further clarity on our current circumstance, and reminded me that impact, not intent, is more important in the conversations we have today around systematic injustice.