"Through a series of essays, Baldwin discusses the significance of actors, Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier and others, all mainstream entertainers and pivotal members of the Civil rights movement. Their on- and off-screen lives became political statements around the racial landscape of America. Baldwin recognizes the double-edged sword of media: A celebration and suppression of the Black community."

"A fourth movie I want to recommend is Carmen Jones, with Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. First of all, the musicality of it, the acting, the dance numbers, you know. Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a remarkable play [ed. note: only Oscar Hammerstein worked on Carmen Jones], but these people brought it to life in a magical way. And for me, the slang that was used by the females, and the power of a woman in that movie, when she drove a man to madness. [laughs] It was very magical to me. This movie I watched dozens of times; it’s a very long movie, so to watch it dozens of times shows you that I’ve committed some of my life to this film."