Notes of a native son: The world according to James Baldwin - Christina Greer

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Reno Kanti Riananda

Over the course of the 1960s,

Sepanjang tahun 1960-an,

the FBI amassed almost two thousand documents

FBI mengumpulkan hampir 2.000 dokumen

in an investigation into one of America’s most celebrated minds.

dalam sebuah investigasi tentang salah satu tokoh cemerlang Amerika.

The subject of this inquiry was a writer named James Baldwin.

Subjek penyelidikan ini adalah seorang penulis bernama James Baldwin.

At the time,

Pada masa itu,

the FBI investigated many artists and thinkers,

FBI menyelidiki banyak artis dan pemikir,

but most of their files were a fraction the size of Baldwin’s.

tetapi arsip mereka tak sebanyak milik Baldwin.

During the years when the FBI hounded him,

Selama diburu oleh FBI,

he became one of the best-selling black authors in the world.

dia menjadi salah satu penulis kulit hitam kenamaan di dunia.

So what made James Baldwin loom so large in the imaginations

Apa yang membuat James Baldwin begitu melekat dalam imajinasi

of both the public and the authorities?

baik masyarakat maupun pihak berwajib?

Born in Harlem in 1924,

Terlahir di Harlem tahun 1924,

he was the oldest of nine children.

dia anak tertua dari sembilan bersaudara.

At age fourteen, he began to work as a preacher.

Di usia 14 tahun, dia mulai bekerja sebagai pendeta.

By delivering sermons, he developed his voice as a writer,

Sambil berkhotbah, dia mulai merintis karir sebagai penulis,

but also grew conflicted about the Church’s stance

tetapi mulai mempertanyakan pandangan Gerejanya

on racial inequality and homosexuality.

terhadap ketidaksetaraan rasial dan homoseksualitas.

After high school,

he began writing novels and essays while taking a series of odd jobs.

Setelah tamat SMA,

dia mulai menulis novel dan esai sambil bekerja serabutan.

But the issues that had driven him away from the Church

Namun masalah yang telah menjauhkannya dari Gereja

were still inescapable in his daily life.

masih terus menghantui hidupnya.

Constantly confronted with racism and homophobia,

Karena terus mengalami rasisme dan homofobia,

he was angry and disillusioned, and yearned for a less restricted life.

dia merasa marah, kecewa, dan mendambakan hidup yang lebih bebas.

So in 1948, at the age of 24,

Jadi di tahun 1948, di usia 24 tahun,

he moved to Paris on a writing fellowship.

dia pindah ke Paris lewat beasiswa menulis.

From France, he published his first novel,

Dari Perancis, dia menerbitkan novel pertamanya,

"Go Tell it on the Mountain," in 1953.

"Go Tell it on the Mountain" di tahun 1953.

Set in Harlem,

Berlokasi di Harlem,

the book explores the Church as a source of both repression and hope.

buku itu menelusuri Gereja sebagai sumber represi dan harapan.

It was popular with both black and white readers.

Buku itu populer di kalangan kulit hitam dan kulit putih.

As he earned acclaim for his fiction,

Saat karya fiksinya dielu-elukan,

Baldwin gathered his thoughts on race, class, culture and exile

Baldwin menuangkan idenya tentang ras, kelas, budaya, dan pengasingan

in his 1955 extended essay, "Notes of a Native Son."

dalam esai panjang di tahun 1955, "Notes of a Native Son."

Meanwhile,

Sementara itu,

the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum in America.

gerakan Hak-Hak Sipil tengah bangkit di Amerika.

Black Americans were making incremental gains at registering to vote and voting,

Kaum kulit hitam Amerika memperoleh keuntungan saat mendaftar untuk memilih,

but were still denied basic dignities in schools, on buses, in the work force,

tetapi masih didiskriminasi di sekolah, di dalam bis, dalam pekerjaan,

and in the armed services.

dan di angkatan bersenjata.

Though he lived primarily in France for the rest of his life,

Walau lebih banyak tinggal di Perancis,

Baldwin was deeply invested in the movement,

Baldwin sangat tertarik dengan gerakan tersebut,

and keenly aware of his country’s unfulfilled promise.

dan menyadari janji negaranya yang belum dilunasi.

He had seen family, friends, and neighbors

Dia menyaksikan keluarga, teman, dan tetangganya

spiral into addiction, incarceration and suicide.

menjadi korban kecanduan, penahanan, dan bunuh diri.

He believed their fates originated from the constraints

Dia percaya nasib mereka disebabkan pembatasan

of a segregated society.

masyarakat segregasi.

In 1963,

Di tahun 1963,

he published "The Fire Next Time,"

dia menerbitkan "The Fire Next Time,"

an arresting portrait of racial strife

sebuah penggambaran perselisihan rasial

in which he held white America accountable,

yang menurutnya disebabkan kaum kulit putih Amerika,

but he also went further,

tetapi tak hanya itu,

arguing that racism hurt white people too.

dia pun berargumen rasisme juga melukai orang kulit putih.

In his view,

Dalam pandangannya,

everyone was inextricably enmeshed in the same social fabric.

semua orang saling terkait dalam tatanan sosial yang sama.

He had long believed that:

Sudah lama dia meyakini bahwa:

“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”

"Manusia terperangkap dalam sejarah, dan sejarah dalam mereka."

Baldwin’s role in the Civil Rights movement

Peran Baldwin di gerakan Hak-Hak Sipil

went beyond observing and reporting.

lebih dari mengamati dan melaporkan.

He also traveled through the American South

Dia juga pergi hingga ke Selatan Amerika

attending rallies giving lectures of his own.

menghadiri aksi unjuk rasa dan memberi ceramah.

He debated both white politicians and black activists,

Dia mendebat politisi kulit putih dan aktivis kulit hitam,

including Malcolm X,

termasuk Malcolm X,

and served as a liaison between black activists and intellectuals

dan menjadi penghubung antara aktivis kulit hitam dan kaum intelektual

and white establishment leaders like Robert Kennedy.

serta pimpinan lembaga kulit putih seperti Robert Kennedy.

Because of Baldwin’s unique ability

Berkat kemampuan unik Baldwin

to articulate the causes of social turbulence

dalam menyampaikan perkara guncangan sosial

in a way that white audiences were willing to hear,

yang bisa diterima orang kulit putih,

Kennedy and others tended to see him as an ambassador for black Americans

Kennedy dan lainnya menganggapnya sebagai duta orang Amerika kulit hitam

— a label Baldwin rejected.

— sebuah label yang ditolak Baldwin.

And at the same time,

Di saat yang sama,

his faculty with words led the FBI to view him as a threat.

keterampilannya berkata-kata membuat FBI menganggapnya sebagai ancaman.

Even within the Civil Rights movement,

Bahkan dalam gerakan Hak-Hak Sipil,

Baldwin could sometimes feel like an outsider

Baldwin kadang merasa terasing

for his choice to live abroad, as well as his sexuality,

karena memilih hidup di luar negeri, dan juga seksualitasnya,

which he explored openly in his writing

yang hadir secara gamblang dalam tulisannya

at a time when homophobia ran rampant.

di masa homofobia tengah marak.

Throughout his life,

Selama hidupnya,

Baldwin considered it his role to bear witness.

Baldwin mengganggap dirinya sebagai seorang saksi.

Unlike many of his peers,

Tidak seperti rekan seangkatannya,

he lived to see some of the victories of the Civil Rights movement,

dia masih sempat melihat beberapa kemenangan dalam gerakan Hak-Hak Sipil,

but the continuing racial inequalities in the United States weighed heavily on him.

namun ketidaksetaraan ras di Amerika terus membekas dalam dirinya.

Though he may have felt trapped in his moment in history,

Walau dia merasa terjebak dalam momen bersejarah itu,

his words have made generations of people feel known,

kata-katanya membuat generasi manusia merasa diakui,

while guiding them toward a more nuanced understanding

sembari memandu mereka untuk lebih memahami

of society’s most complex issues.

persoalan masyarakat yang paling kompleks.