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Sister Lucinda
Calvin Baxter, a Black man who works for the FBI, is the narrator and protagonist of “New Mexico.” He was part of the Chicago operation in 1969 that resulted in the assassination of Fred Hampton (a prominent figure in the Black Panther party). Calvin is now on a mission in New Mexico and has been assigned to train a new recruit named Basil. Calvin begrudgingly takes up the task, posing undercover as part of the service staff at a fancy hotel. The pair are trying to gather information on The Swan, one of the Messenger’s mistresses. Calvin is largely unsympathetic towards the Nation of Islam, though he acknowledges the positive work they do for communities. Lately, his personal and family lives have been a struggle—his wife left him a year ago after she found out he was cheating on her and, shortly after that, his father (Melvin)—with whom he had a difficult relationship—died. He also feuds regularly with some neighborhood kids, led by JoJo, who target Calvin for pranks because of his job.
Calvin Baxter Quotes in Temple Folk
The Temple Folk quotes below are all either spoken by Calvin Baxter or refer to Calvin Baxter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
2. New Mexico Quotes
My father grabbed the paper. “Now that’s a real man right there,” he said, “supporting his own people, not working for the white man like you doing. They told me in the pen that you Five-O. I can’t think of nothing worse for the Black man than working for the pigs.”
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“Now you be strong,” the Swan said to her son. “This boy is going to fix your leg and you’ll be feeling good as new.”
My ear caught hold of what she said. Though I tried to put it out of my mind, needing to focus on the matter at hand and not startle the Swan, her words confused me.
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[JoJo] was someone with an essentially good nature, who could be moved by fanciful notions of a glorious past to compel his sense of virtue. I was glad it was a hardened man like me who’d experienced this and not him. It was one discovery I highlighted in the record of our time in New Mexico and delivered to the Bureau on my return. The Swan, mistress of Mr. Muhammad and mother to his illegitimate son, was a passing woman; soldiering for a cursory kind of freedom, wrought in the lie of white superiority we thought they all opposed.
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Calvin Baxter Quotes in Temple Folk
The Temple Folk quotes below are all either spoken by Calvin Baxter or refer to Calvin Baxter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
2. New Mexico Quotes
My father grabbed the paper. “Now that’s a real man right there,” he said, “supporting his own people, not working for the white man like you doing. They told me in the pen that you Five-O. I can’t think of nothing worse for the Black man than working for the pigs.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Now you be strong,” the Swan said to her son. “This boy is going to fix your leg and you’ll be feeling good as new.”
My ear caught hold of what she said. Though I tried to put it out of my mind, needing to focus on the matter at hand and not startle the Swan, her words confused me.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
[JoJo] was someone with an essentially good nature, who could be moved by fanciful notions of a glorious past to compel his sense of virtue. I was glad it was a hardened man like me who’d experienced this and not him. It was one discovery I highlighted in the record of our time in New Mexico and delivered to the Bureau on my return. The Swan, mistress of Mr. Muhammad and mother to his illegitimate son, was a passing woman; soldiering for a cursory kind of freedom, wrought in the lie of white superiority we thought they all opposed.
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