The Role Of African Americans In James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time

Africans were involuntarily removed from their homelands and forced into slavery long before the United States of America was established as a country. The first generation of Africans who unwillingly migrated to North America felt no personal attachment to these lands and in turn never considered these colonies to be their home. As time passed by, these African slaves were giving birth to new generations of Africans who are now more commonly known as African Americans. These generations of African Americans were born and raised on American soil, but were always treated like secondhand citizens. White people projected all of their hate, disappointment, and fear onto African Americans simply because they could. Black citizens were born into …show more content…
In the beginning of The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin is describing the world in which his young nephew was born into, and why he is upset with the current status quo. The root of his dissatisfaction derives from the fact that the reason his nephew will be looked down upon in society and treated differently than his white counterparts simply because of the color of his skin . Society during this time stereotypically associates being black with being a dangerous criminal. The white citizens in society choose to simply ignore African Americans as a result. Some members of society have hatred in their hearts and believe the falsities they have been taught about African Americans. However, a majority of society does not inherently believe in these stereotypes, but are too afraid to question the beliefs they have been taught and that is why they choose to do nothing. Baldwin believes that, “Privately, we cannot stand our lives and dare not examine them; we take no responsibility for what goes on in our country” . White Americans are blatantly choosing to live a life of shear ignorance and passivity, not wanting to consider all of the lives that are being permanently damaged through the process. White Americans have the ability to take advantage of African Americans primarily because they have all the power . The whites have always had the power, and according to …show more content…
It is time for white Americans to quit denying this undeniable truth and start working towards change. Baldwin believed that it was up to the “relatively conscious whites and blacks” to create a new, equal America. He conveys the message that tremendous efforts are needed in order to shift the mindsets of the black and white communities alike. African Americans have to swallow all of their hatred and cooperate with white America, who must now reexamine everything they believe in . This is essentially the main point of James Baldwin sharing his experiences with the rest of the world. He wanted all of his readers at the time to realize that the past is the past, and it is what they decide to do in the present that will ultimately decide the fate of their