James Baldwin The Fire Next Time Summary

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Recommended: Racism and the civil rights movement

In “The Fire Next Time,” James Baldwin, uses two essays not only to examine racism during a time when the civil rights movement was just emerging, but also to present readers with the consequences America’s intolerance of the black population. During Baldwin’s lifetime, racial injustices plagued America, and, for blacks, equality was merely an idea, not a reality. Despite the racism, Baldwin sees that America still has a chance to right its wrongs by learning to love and accept those of different races. If blacks and whites learn to accept each other, Baldwin believes that America will become stronger as a nation. In the first part of the book, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” Baldwin warns his nephew of the harsh reality he has been born into and will face throughout his
Many people, black and white, must learn to love and accept everybody, regardless of race or otherwise. The Christian church that Baldwin once loved so dearly preached love. Church goers were told to love everybody, but sadly Baldwin learned that everybody did not mean everybody. While recounting his grievances about the church Baldwin explained, “When we were told to love everybody, I had thought that that meant everybody. But no. It applied only to those who believed as we did, and it did not apply to white people at all.” (Baldwin, 40) The love that the church had taught Baldwin was not as pure as he had once believed. At one point, Baldwin was told by a minister that he should never give his seat up to a white woman because white men did not give their seats to black women. Baldwin failed to see why he shouldn’t offer up his seat to a woman just because she was white. If blacks wanted whites to treat them with respect, the blacks should also treat the whites with

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