“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” —James Baldwin, “As Much Truth As One Can Bear,” The New York Times Book Review, January 14, 1962.

Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced ~ the two ideas work together. Facing history honestly doesn’t guarantee you can fix everything. But looking away guarantees nothing changes at all.

We are our history, not just we have a history ~ our institutions, assumptions, prejudices, and even our sense of who counts as “normal” were built by decisions made generations ago, and we’re still operating inside that architecture, often without noticing the walls.

Pretending otherwise being criminal is the sharpest part, and it’s a moral argument, not just a historical one. Refusing to see how the past shapes the present isn’t naive or neutral, it’s a kind of active harm. Denial isn’t passive, it’s a choice that lets injustice continue.

Have a thoughtful evening.