When we discussed Fire
Next Time in class on Monday, one of Dr. Gibson’s notes was on the
“epistemology of blackness,” or how Baldwin seeks to reconcile what it means to
be black in America. After reading his book, it appears to me that what Baldwin
was seeking to do was define his identity in terms of his place in the word.
Baldwin’s understanding of his being in the world was shaped by formative
religious experiences that allowed him to understand his blackness. What Baldwin
comes to analyze is the way in which his own identity structure was
pre-determined by historical consequences. His embrace of history allowed him
to escape his place in the world by uplifting himself as a writer. The
victim-savior dichotomy that Dr. Gibson discussed plays into the development of
this identity. As Baldwin returns to the United States and publishes Fire Next Time in the midst of the
turmoil of the 1960s, he seeks to discover the way in which he breaks against
the identity structure set before him as a black man.
“I was icily determined-more determined, really, than I
knew- never to make my peace with the ghetto but to die and go to Hell before I
would let any white man spit on me, before I would accept my “place” in this
republic… Every Negro boy… who reaches this point realizes, at once,
profoundly, because he wants to live, that he stands in great peril and must
find, with speed, a “thing”, a gimmick to life him out, to start him on his way”
(23-24). Baldwin discovered the Church as his source of identity to discover a
solution to moving past the expectations of his life works set forth by
historical consequences. Baldwin interpreted this calling to be his way of
re-working the system in existence within Harlem, to deny the continuance of
identity structures repeatedly reinforced throughout history. Baldwin’s own
search for identity led him to continually question the religious and social
nature of the United States.
Fire Next Time
presents an interesting paradox of identity throughout the book. The daily
struggles of Baldwin to discover his place within this movement allowed him to
travel and discover the way in which other’s individual stories and how their
experiences were contributing to history. The fact that most of his interest laid
in the private life rather than public shows an allegiance for Baldwin to
self-awareness. He wanted people to internalize the circumstances that they
existed within, embrace their historical identity and move towards accepting
blackness as an epistemology to revere with strength.
What did everyone else think about this discussion of the
epistemology of blackness? How did Baldwin’s identity shape his life’s work?
I think that what Baldwin says about coming to terms with history in order to understand your own identity also applies to the history of religion for the African American community. Baldwin is distressed that according to the authorities on religion, Jesus was white. However, by coming to terms with this limitation, Baldwin comes to understand that the church is simply another tradition from the white community.
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