The Fire Next Time Book Review
James Baldwin's 1963 essay, Down At The Cross: Letters From A Region In My Mind, one of two pieces in his slim yet powerful volume The Fire Next Time, ends with a warning so prescient and bombastic it feels like the lyrics of a political rap song even though they predate the genre by several decades. Baldwin offers, with candor and wit, a razor-sharp analysis of American racism that is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago. This is not to say Baldwin possessed the gift of clairvoyance; rather, he had a firm grasp of all the contradictions and possibilities of America, and he articulated these truths with a fearlessness that still inspires the writers, thinkers, and movements of today.
"......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 that prophecy, recreated from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!" –James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next Time contains two essays of startling breath and clarity. The book begins with the concise and powerful My Dungeon Shook: Letter To My Nephew on the Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation. In this letter, Baldwin attempts to inoculate his young nephew against the soul-sapping disease of American racism. He eloquently captures the debilitating helplessness that Black elders feel as they try to prepare their young for a world that is hell-bent on their demise. This essay is the jumping-off point for Ta-Nahesi Coates's brilliant book Between The World And Me, another testament to the enduring power of James Baldwin's insights.
The second essay, Down At The Cross, is an expansive and revealing piece that begins with Baldwin recounting his religious awakening and subsequent disillusion with the Black Church in which he was raised. Through the lens of race and religion, James Baldwin examines the so-called "Negro Problem" of his day and the need for love that transcends the brutal binary of Black and White. What sets Baldwin apart from his contemporaries is his willingness to examine the frailties of his people. In The Fire Next Time, Black people are not silent, noble, and incorruptible. Instead, he presents Black people with the flawed and beautiful human detail we deserve.
As we work to resolve issues of race in America and its intersectional offshoots, Baldwin's words still carry a promise of potential salvation and dire warning.
