The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin and The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
We are living in a tumultuous age. As teachers, it is our job to address this tension in the classroom and shed light on the perspectives of the oppressed. These two novels offer wonderful insights on racism in contemporary America. James Baldwin’s collection of essays in The Fire Next Time illuminates the imperfect state of the American narrative. Jesmyn Ward complements these ideas, asserting that the firey revolution of racial equality must happen now. Ward demands a redirection of social policies and attitudes regarding race and demands better for the minorities of the United States of America. If addressing the racial tensions periodically discussed in the US is a goal of yours, I would heavily invite these readings to the classroom.
