The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

So, today at the beach I read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin....

The Fire Next Time is autobiographical, and its starts when Baldwin is around fourteen years old when he and his peers start to change: “And there seem to be no way whatever to remove this cloud that stood between them and the sun, between them and love and life and power, between them and whatever it is they wanted.”

My people, this book gave me much to think about, and I will be thinking about the ideas in this book for quite a long time. In the racial charged times in which we are living, this is a book that can generate great discussions on race, and at the same time, offer some solutions. I am beginning to believe, like Baldwin that “color is not a human or a personal reality; it is a political reality.” Why can’t we all just be American????

I’ll leave you with the words of Baldwin on how we can heal this country or burn: “If we - and now I mean the relatively conscious Whites and the relatively conscious Blacks, who must, like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of the others - do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world. If we do not dare everything, the fulfillment of the prophecy, re-created from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time."

My People, read this timely classic, and let’s talk.......

I am going to read one more book by Baldwin that was recommended to me by a friend: If Beale Street Could Talk.

You MUST experience Baldwin for yourself......