“Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, which is the only fact we have.”
James Baldwin, “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in my Mind” from The Fire Next Time (1963)
Have you used this sample in your class? If so, please let us know how. What did you discuss? What activities did you do? How did students respond? Comment below!
Rutgers University-Camden 