When looking at the African American experience throughout the 20th century, it seems to be focused largely on oppression. There is this sense that the only time we care about their lives is when there's a major civil rights case involved. While there is a court case that lines James Baldwin's great, tender story "If Beale Street Could Talk," it is a smaller piece of the bigger picture. It's a love story of a man and woman learning to navigate the world around them. It drops the reader into a world full of questioning eyes, though they come from the unknown world that lies just beyond puppy love. It's a story rich with a deeper warmth that makes you embrace the flowery language that creates one of the greatest movies about being young and in love during trying times.
The story follows Tish, who is in love with Fonny. Both have adopted these nicknames and have formed identities around them. By all accounts, they are your typical young couple who will stick together through thick and thin. Following a pregnancy, Tish introduces Fonny to her family and finds that there are the familiar struggles. They're just as excited about the news as they are unsure if Fonny is the man who will take care of her. Even then, there is this confidence in Fonny that Baldwin places in him that makes you understand why these two fall on each other. They see the world observing them and take comfort in the ways that they make each other sane. Fonny makes Tish feel safe, and they even want to move in with each other.
Despite the story shifting to Fonny being arrested and Tish's mom flying to Puerto Rico to find the woman who falsely accused him of rape, it manages to focus on this overall quest for optimism. There is no vindictive feeling in how Baldwin presents the world. When Fonny has an exchange that involves racial epithets, he is defended by a shopkeep. This is an understanding of communities sticking together no matter what. Much like how Tish visits Fonny in prison, the way that everyone supports each other shows that despite the tragedy, this is a story about what it means to be in love in all different ways.
With that said, the best passages tend to involve Tish observing the intimate moments with Fonny. The way that she describes sex is something that is so intimate that you understand her physical transformation. She is experiencing love in her soul. Despite the explicit moment, you're drawn into how the moment is full of passion, of people feeling like they're safe in each other's arms. Fonny, in general, is treated as a beautiful creature who deserves better. He is the figure who is both protective and in need of rescuing. When he's on the other end, it becomes more difficult. Still, Tish's tangents into her love of Fonny have this powerful sincerity to them that makes you want to believe in the very concept of love. Love hasn't been this passionate or familiar before.
By the end, the dour subjects feel like they fall by the wayside. What is left is the positive feelings that humanity brings during these times. They could just grow depressed and feel hopeless,but Baldwin finds that turning to loved ones for comfort is the best antidote. Together, they will get through all of these problems. It's what makes the simple narrative that wanders around Beale Street's vibrant culture such a powerful, lasting story. As much as it's specific to an era when African Americans were still seen a little bit like outsiders, it feels more universal throughout history, of feeling like it's us against the world. By the end, things aren't entirely fixed, but enough is in place that you get the sense that things aren't as terrible as they seem. It's because we're much less alone than we think, even when we're locked in a cell and only get brief moments of sunshine a day. Sometimes a smile and a phone call is all it needs to brighten one's day. That's the brilliance of Fonny and Tish's relationship, and what carries this to a timeless tale.
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