A social contract is an implicit contract that is formed between the citizens of a society. Ideally, its purpose in society is to maintain social order. The social contract is meant to consider everyone in society as an equal individual. However, I don’t think that’s the case when it comes to the factor of race. It seems that there is a different contract signed by authoritative figures who use the social contract as a means of suppressing minorities. It says that aggression that minorities face is fine but the reactions from them are going against the social contract. Trevor Noah makes a fair point in his criticism of the social contract – it cannot exist if people think they are above the rules that are set forth by it.

In the movie I Am Not Your Negro, James Baldwin described himself as a witness, on the sidelines watching what was going on. He states that part of his responsibility as a witness was to write the story and get it out. Knowing Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evens allowed him to use their lives to write about what was happening with the world. He showcases the contrast of the King and Malcolm X philosophy, highlighting the benefits of both approaches to justice and celebrating his admiration for both. Baldwin even suggests that they were similar in their philosophies toward the end of their lives.

This film was very emotional at points but it was also very educational. One scene that really stood out to me was seeing the footage of Mars as Baldwin says “white people are astounded by Birmingham. Black people aren’t. White people are endlessly demanding to be reassured that Birmingham is really on Mars. They don’t want to believe, still less to act on the belief, that what is happening in Birmingham is happening all over the country.” His words highlight the denial of white Americans and the role they played in how this country was built. Baldwin points out that this is one of the largest obstacles to progress. By remaining segregated, people did not have to see what was happening on “the other side” and allowed them to remain “pure”. There was also a point in the film that showed photos of young African American boys and girls accompanied by Baldwin saying “I know how you watch, as you grow older and it is not a figure of speech, the corpses of your brothers and your sisters pile up around you. And not for anything that they have done, they were too young to have done anything.” I found this to be a super powerful moment in the film and it shows how despite the progress that has been made, things aren’t so different from the way that they were. Although death played a prominent role in this film, it also shows how the work of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medger Evers lives on through their words and the movements that they left behind.