He remembers the day James was born as one characterized by ambivalence. This quote also offers a lesson to Baldwin's nephew, James. 'And now you must survive because we love you, and for the sake of your children and your children's children.' 7 It is only by accepting the way white men think of him that he could also be destroyed by despair. Thus, Baldwin warns James that he must not succumb to this belief. Baldwin points out to his nephew that the white world does still think of African Americans as 'niggers,' meaning that it continues to put them down and approach them as inferior. He internalized this after years of being put down by white Americans.

This, Baldwin says, is what destroyed his nephew's father, Baldwin's brother: internalizing the belief that he was inferior to white men. While this prejudice is no longer enshrined in law, it still presents a massive obstacle. However, Baldwin cautions that a deep, mortal challenge remains: accepting the white world's deep prejudice against black people. Though these do also have their fair share of dangers, Baldwin suggests that survival is now possible. He has gotten to leave the land and move into urban spaces. He reassures him that, in many ways, his situation is better than that of his ancestors. In this quote, Baldwin offers a lesson to his nephew. 'You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger.' 4

Book the fire next time