Baldwin’s late rage sheds faith that white America could change

Evidence

But something was different now, something best measured by his words in defense of Stokely. By 1967, Baldwin had grown even more disillusioned with the country, including the white liberals who had once celebrated him. His rage was no longer tempered by his faith in the possibility that America could change. In his early years, he had invested so much energy, in his writings and in his speeches, to warning white America of the costs to themselves and to the country of their commitment to the myths and legends of America. As Colin MacInnes, the British novelist and journalist, said in the literary magazine Encounter in 1965, “Why Baldwin speaks to us of another race is that he still believes us worthy of warning: he has not yet despaired of making us feel the dilemma we all chat about so glibly…and of trying to save us from the agonies that we too will suffer if the Negro people are driven beyond the ultimate point of desperation.” As Baldwin sat down to write his defense of Carmichael, he questioned whether white America was worthy of warning at all. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Begin Again, 103

Categorization

• XREF: Direct fuel for the reader’s case that late Baldwin is more essential — the moment he stops believing white America deserves warning.