Thursday, April 17, 2008
Does anyone have anything to say in regards to any of the essays in Baldwin's THE FIRE NEXT TIME that relates in your opinion to contemporary times and issues whether they be political, cultural, racial or religious in nature? Feel free to bounce ideas off of your peers ideas. Be specific about the passages or points you are drawing your ideas from in the book so others can see your point(s).
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I think many of the points relate both to present occurrences and many of the topics bell hooks discusses. 1) His example of claimed "innocence", which can be replaced by deniers, early on (5-6) still occurs today: many white people claim to be innocent of any crime while we have all been complicit. 2) His declaration that "They [whites] do not know Harlem, and I do" also hits home today. Many whites make commentary as if they know about African American life as well as any black person. 3) At many points in the book, Baldwin destroys the false assumption that blacks fought solely for integration in the Civil Rights Movement. Instead the Civil Rights Movement was about just that: gaining equal civil rights—the right to integrate or not integrate if one wishes. Page 21 hits on this point (hooks also makes this clear). The black community did not perform sit-ins because they wanted to be like the white community; indeed, they wanted to have the same opportunity as whites, i.e. equality. One cannot deny a person in the minority the right to integrate or, if they choose, the right not to integrate. Further, groups like BSA are not exclusionary, but inclusive. We should all think on why most whites do not consider joining these groups. Could it be because they do not want to integrate with them? 4) Baldwin's discussion about why he turned to the church (see pages 26-27 for discussion of various fears) are relevant in light of Obama's recent speech on why people turn to guns (presumably protection against the other) and religion (a higher power that can protect you in the face of many unknowns). Conservatives have hit back on Obama's commentary, but I believe they largely true when one is truthful with oneself. 5) Continuing on with religion, Baldwin hits on the hypocrisy and split in both the white and black churches, specifically the hatred in each. Obama, in his now famous speech addressing justified racial anger, cited MLK, JR., that (and I paraphrase) the 'most segregated hour in America is on Sunday.'
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