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Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin

James Baldwin

God gave Noah the rainbow sign,
No more water but fire next time.

Black man writing on race--never a bad thing for a white guy to read. Here's what I took away new. Looked at through an economic or power lens, white America controls black America. But Baldwin points out that looked at from a truth lens, black Americans know more than whites about the true nature of our country. They aren't deceived by platitudes about American virtue because they live American vice. White America has blinkers on, like horses that see only straight ahead. Black America sees the whole picture.

Section on Elijah Muhammad is interesting. You can feel Muhammad's great appeal to Baldwin; you can feel Baldwin's reluctance to be sucked into anything resembling groupthink.

I read Giovanni's Room at 20 and was absolutely amazed by the novel--topic first of all, and then power of writing. So powerful an experience that I don't think I'll reread for fear a rereading will spoil the memory. I will try GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN soon. Terrific writer.

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