Analysis Of Fifth Avenue, Uptown: A Letter From Harlem By James Baldwin

If there is anything I’ve learned in the past year of my life it is that without change there is no growth. I used to relate change with leaving things behind and I thought that was a bad thing. Now I think of it this way; change only comes with the acceptance of what was. That in itself is something positive. We can’t move on without coming to terms with what we’ve been through. Not only does this apply to us as people, but it applies to us as a country. The most important aspect of change is the fact that we recognize the need for it. Now more than ever we are aware that our society lacks morals. James Baldwin once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Unless we face what is in front of us then nothing will changed for

the better.

Therefore, our society will not evolve until we admit that it is time for a new approach to the way we function. In his essay, “Fifth Avenue, Uptown: A Letter from Harlem”, Baldwin takes a closer look at the projects of Harlem and describes their true purpose as being to keep the African-American in his place at the bottom of society. He introduces the idea of our immorality and asserts that it is the cause for our lack of respect for the struggles of others. He ends his essay with a call for a re-examination of our country for we are only as strong as our weakest link.

For as long as I can remember I’ve heard the saying, “Be the change you want to see.” While I understood what it meant I never really grasped why it was important to do so. If we don’t take the initiative to instill in our children the morals that our society lacks then the cycle will continue of disregard for others. We need to teach our children to seek who they are, and what they want out of life. Once

they know the answers that is when they are able to help better the conditions of others. Lately, I’ve been worrying more about my brother, and the person he is growing up to be. I question his awareness for other people. My sister and I were raised by my grandmother up until we were in middle school. My parents spent a lot of time working so she was the one who took care of us. Even as a young girl my grandma was constantly reminding me to sit up straight, not to interrupt others when they were talking, and to treat others how I wanted to be treated. That last one came from my mom, but you begin to get the idea that I grew up with manners and morals. Yet I can’t help but call my grandma out on her leniency towards my brother. I’m convinced it is because he is a boy, and it doesn’t help that he is the youngest. He is thirteen now, and sometimes I feel as if I’m the only one who recognizes that if we don’t set boundaries now he won’t learn to respect them later in life. Yet he has grown up with little responsibility, and his doesn’t know the value of money or what it means to work for what you want. I think we’ve reached a point where we need to show him what it means to be an adult instead of telling him he needs to act like one. We have to be the person we want him to be or else it means nothing to him when we tell him to take responsibility for his actions.