By 1963, James Baldwin had
already been acclaimed as a leading spokesman for black Americans.
His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain
(1953), was greeted as an important portrait of black life in the
United States, and Notes of a Native Son
(1955), his first collection of essays, introduced a clear,
penetrating voice in the national civil rights debate. Baldwin
exemplified eloquence at its highest level. He employed a rich
tradition of truth-telling, witness-bearing, soul-stirring writing
with the black church as a backdrop.
In his work The
Fire Next Time (1963), Baldwin
contends that the only resolution to the "racial nightmare"
in American society is for conscious whites and blacks to teach
others about racial intolerance. If this effort fails among conscious
citizens of both races, the “fire”
next time Baldwin prophesizes will be increased social unrest, as
African Americans' protest against the rhetoric that has classified
them as less than human and the unchanged policies that have treated
them as inferior will surge. Over 50 years later his words are,
sadly, more relevant than ever.
1963. Think of it. Who can
deny the accuracy of Baldwin's futuristic beliefs?
The
Fire Next Time is
really two essays. The first essay – “My Dungeon Shook” – is
a letter to Baldwin’s nephew (also named “James Baldwin”), in
which he compares his nephew to the men in their family including
Baldwin’s brother and father. He tells his nephew about America’s
ability to destroy Black men and challenges his nephew to convert his
anger due to mistreatment as a Black man into having a passionate and
broad outlook on the Negro experience.
“The
details and symbols of your life have been deliberately constructed
to make you believe what white people say about you. Please try to
remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause
you to endure, does not testify to your inferiority, but to their
inhumanity and fear.”
-- James
Baldwin, The Fire Next Time
Baldwin tells his nephew
that the experiences of living as black men in a Harlem ghetto are
not “exaggerated,” regardless of what white people want to
believe. Rather, Baldwin acknowledges that he and his nephew were
placed in an environment where they were both expected to fail and
where white people dictated what they could or could not do.
And yet, Baldwin argues,
in order to achieve real change, his nephew (and all young people)
must accept white people with love, despite having endured horrible
treatment from them. Ultimately, until white people are able to
understand that black people are not inferior to them, there is no
hope for them to change.
Baldwin encourages his kin
to pursue lasting change rather than seeking vengeance for the abuses
they have been forced to endure. He concludes that even though the
anger of black people is entirely justified, separating from America
or eliminating white people is not a feasible solution.
Baldwin most importantly
says to his nephew that there is no reason for him to try to become
like white men and no basis whatever for their (whites') impertinent
assumption that they must accept you. He says white men are “trapped
in a history which they do not understand and until they understand
it, they cannot be released from it: they have had to believe for
many years, and for innumerable reasons, that black men are inferior
to white men.”
Baldwin writes …
“This is
your home, my friend, do not be driven from it; great men have done
great
things here, and will again, and we can make America what
America
must become.”
We must understand how
haughty and wrong it is to believe that whites “must grant”
blacks equality and justice. They have these provisions as a
birthright – it is the majority white population that has refused
to acknowledge minority rights for over 400 years. Baldwin
understood that America must “become,” not return to the past and
not to proceed with indifference. In 2020, the Declaration's promise
of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" must be
fully honored. Perhaps, finally, a nation is willing to make needed
changes to insure equal rights.
Will there be more unrest
as “the fire next time” rages against racial injustice? How I
wish James Baldwin were still alive to provide his great wisdom to
the country. We thirst for great leadership now. We have
unfortunately become a nation of people divided who desperately seek
the guidance of those with dignity and understanding.
“I
imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly
is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal
with pain.”
– James
Baldwin, The Fire Next Time
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