“The story of the Negro in America is the story of America. It is not a pretty story.”

-James Baldwin

Photo by Allan Warren (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

Over at Escape Into Life, I have a new “Accidental Critic” review posted, reflecting on the film “I Am Not Your Negro.” Now playing in downtown Chicago and coming in May to Oak Park  (for one day only), “I Am Not Your Negro” is based on author James Baldwin’s notes for an unfinished project in which he planned to examine the slayings of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. – all friends of his.

It’s a challenging movie in several ways, not least because it addresses racism head-on and draws direct lines between the racial violence of the 1960s and our current American culture. It’s also not a typical film that starts at Point A and brings you to Point B. It’s more a reflection than a story. In that sense, it feels like notes—which isn’t at all inappropriate.

The movie review goes into a lot more detail, but the film is worth seeing if you get the chance. It’s currently at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center, through April 6. Elsewhere in Chicagoland, it will be featured May 2 in Oak Park as part of the Lake Theatre’s First Tuesday film series. If neither location is convenient, see where else it’s playing.