Midterm Topic: The Fire Next Time

For my midterm I would like to examine and analyze James Baldwin's first piece in The Fire Next Time entitled, "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation." Baldwin writes this piece in 1963 during the early days of the civil rights movement locating race in the United States, and the state of what has "really" happened since "the emancipation"; particularly in relation to how white identity is linked to black identity in America.  The conversation takes on an intensity and urgency, with a level of intimacy afforded his medium of choice, which positions this letter as a unique and crucial contribution to understanding race in America - which is both sadly and prophetically still relevant today.  I will breakdown Baldwin's work in the hopes of illuminating the role of racial identity in American history, particularly exploring the soul of white folks, through the eyes of Baldwin, gazing at the future of his young nephew.