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The Fire Next Time; Nobody Knows My Name ; No Name In The Street; The Devil Finds Work
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Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
19 books581 followersEddie S. Glaude Jr. is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University and author of Democracy in Black.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 31, 2025
The Fire Next Time is a very short book comprised of two essays. The first essay is titled 'My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew' on the 100th anniversary of the emancipation. It's very short, it's only about five pages or less. He is addressing his young nephew in the letter, but as it's an open letter he's really addressing the entire country as well. He starts by telling his nephew about his own father saying that he had been defeated before his death because he believed what white people said about him, and he says that this has destroyed and continues to destroy many others. It has been 100 years since the emancipation proclamation and still white privilege perpetuates their oppression.
So, Baldwin essentially gives his nephew some advice. He tells him never to believe what others believe or say about him, despite the fact that society has been deliberately constructed to make him believe that he is less than. He uses a well-known adage saying what people say about you actually doesn't say anything about you but says everything about them, their inhumanity and their fear. He also advises his nephew not to strive acceptance but to strive for social change - Here Baldwin turns the situation on its head a bit. He says that his countrymen are his brothers and it's actually them who are not free, and it's only with love and compassion that he can force them to see themselves and bee free. One of the most powerful lines in my opinion is when he tells his nephew, "There is no reason for you to try to become like white people and there is no basis whatever for their impertinent assumption that they must accept you. The really terrible thing, old buddy, is that you must accept them." Baldwin believes that these countrymen they know better, but they can't put their belief in to action because for generations their identity has been rooted in the incorrect notion that they are superior - And to openly accept that they are not is to lose their identity and that scares them. He says if we want to talk about integration in this country, first the country has to see and accept what it is and has been, and that's the only way society can be changed.
James Baldwin writes with such love for his country and compassion for his countrymen, despite the treatment he has faced at their hands, he is asking them to raise themselves, to better themselves, and he's offering a helping hand - Essentially saying I want to help you understand so that we can better the country together. He says to his nephew, "...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." So, he says must become because if America cannot that's where the title of this book comes in 'The Fire Next Time'. This is a line from a black gospel hymn titled 'Mary Don't You Weep', Baldwin chose the title as a warning if America cannot learn to understand and accept all of its people.
Like I said, this essay/letter is very short. It's only five pages. I think it's an important read. It was written in the early 1960s during the Civil Rights movement, either before or right after segregation was outlawed, and it is still a relevant read today.
The second essay in the book is a little bit longer. It's titled 'Down At The Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind'. This one is far more personal to Baldwin's own life. He felt as a young black boy growing up in Harlem he basically had two choices: Either give your life to the street or give it to the church. Throughout the essay he actually likens the two with one another. He writes about experiencing this religious epiphany in the church and he starts preaching himself and he is good at it, he knows how to perform at the pulpit. Over time though, Baldwin begins to notice the hypocrisies of the church - Instead of it being a place of love and redemption it is a place of hatred, guilt, and shame - And instead of it being his salvation, it starts to feel more like an avoidance of the truth. He says, "When we were told to love everybody, I had thought it meant everybody."
He ends this essay in a similar way to the first, saying that social change can only be enacted through mutual understanding and cooperation. America preaches freedom and equality but that can only truly be reached when it acknowledges its oppressive systems and raises itself to meet its countrymen.
*Sighs* My words will never do this work justice to be honest, please just read the book for yourself. Baldwin also writes fiction novels which I also highly recommend. To me and many others he's canon in American literature, incredibly wise, insightful. Even though in his non-fiction he's writing about very important matters, the aesthetics of his writing is not lost. He is a beautiful writer, one of my favorites and I cannot recommend him enough!
So, Baldwin essentially gives his nephew some advice. He tells him never to believe what others believe or say about him, despite the fact that society has been deliberately constructed to make him believe that he is less than. He uses a well-known adage saying what people say about you actually doesn't say anything about you but says everything about them, their inhumanity and their fear. He also advises his nephew not to strive acceptance but to strive for social change - Here Baldwin turns the situation on its head a bit. He says that his countrymen are his brothers and it's actually them who are not free, and it's only with love and compassion that he can force them to see themselves and bee free. One of the most powerful lines in my opinion is when he tells his nephew, "There is no reason for you to try to become like white people and there is no basis whatever for their impertinent assumption that they must accept you. The really terrible thing, old buddy, is that you must accept them." Baldwin believes that these countrymen they know better, but they can't put their belief in to action because for generations their identity has been rooted in the incorrect notion that they are superior - And to openly accept that they are not is to lose their identity and that scares them. He says if we want to talk about integration in this country, first the country has to see and accept what it is and has been, and that's the only way society can be changed.
James Baldwin writes with such love for his country and compassion for his countrymen, despite the treatment he has faced at their hands, he is asking them to raise themselves, to better themselves, and he's offering a helping hand - Essentially saying I want to help you understand so that we can better the country together. He says to his nephew, "...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." So, he says must become because if America cannot that's where the title of this book comes in 'The Fire Next Time'. This is a line from a black gospel hymn titled 'Mary Don't You Weep', Baldwin chose the title as a warning if America cannot learn to understand and accept all of its people.
Like I said, this essay/letter is very short. It's only five pages. I think it's an important read. It was written in the early 1960s during the Civil Rights movement, either before or right after segregation was outlawed, and it is still a relevant read today.
The second essay in the book is a little bit longer. It's titled 'Down At The Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind'. This one is far more personal to Baldwin's own life. He felt as a young black boy growing up in Harlem he basically had two choices: Either give your life to the street or give it to the church. Throughout the essay he actually likens the two with one another. He writes about experiencing this religious epiphany in the church and he starts preaching himself and he is good at it, he knows how to perform at the pulpit. Over time though, Baldwin begins to notice the hypocrisies of the church - Instead of it being a place of love and redemption it is a place of hatred, guilt, and shame - And instead of it being his salvation, it starts to feel more like an avoidance of the truth. He says, "When we were told to love everybody, I had thought it meant everybody."
He ends this essay in a similar way to the first, saying that social change can only be enacted through mutual understanding and cooperation. America preaches freedom and equality but that can only truly be reached when it acknowledges its oppressive systems and raises itself to meet its countrymen.
*Sighs* My words will never do this work justice to be honest, please just read the book for yourself. Baldwin also writes fiction novels which I also highly recommend. To me and many others he's canon in American literature, incredibly wise, insightful. Even though in his non-fiction he's writing about very important matters, the aesthetics of his writing is not lost. He is a beautiful writer, one of my favorites and I cannot recommend him enough!
Displaying 1 of 1 review