MHCC HOSTS VIRTUAL DISCUSSION OF “THE FIRE NEXT TIME” BY JAMES BALDWIN

The MHCC community is invited to celebrate Black History Month with a discussion on James Baldwin’s legacy.

Traci Simmons, Mt. Hood’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion, and English instructor Don Anderson will host a virtual discussion of Baldwin’s famous book, “The Fire Next Time,” on Monday, Feb. 17.

The Zoom session will run from 1 to 2 p.m.

The event summary provides insight into what students can expect during the discussion, with a brief synopsis of Baldwin’s work. The facilitators note that “Baldwin examines the fraught interconnectedness between Black and White people, his complicated relationship with Christianity and reflections on The Nation of Islam, and offers his most poignant and courageous treatise on love.

“This is an unflinching essay that encourages the reader to, as Baldwin puts it, ‘confront with passion the conundrum of life.’ ”

Baldwin, an American author, poet and activist, came of age in Harlem, in New York City. His influential essays and novels on the Black American experience of racism, oppression and racially motivated violence retain a prominent voice in civil liberties debates today.

Originally published in 1963, ‘Fire’ examines the issues of racial inequality in America. The first essay, “My Dungeon Shook,” is a letter to Baldwin’s nephew on the 100th anniversary of emancipation. hope outweighing his fear and pessimism.

The second essay, “Down at the Cross,” offers insight into Baldwin’s relationship with Christianity, religion, his history as a pastor, and his encounters with civil rights activist

Malcolm X and Nation of Islam leader Honorable Elijah Muhammad – two influential figures in the civil rights movement with whom Baldwin shares many sentiments, while opposing the path of black separatism they preach.

As Baldwin said in the book, “To accept one’s past – one’s history – is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it.” These essays are viewed by many as a tool for just that.

The author’s extensive collection of novels, essays and plays also includes “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “Notes of a Native Son,” and “Another Country.”

For a further view into Baldwin’s legacy, a legendary debate between Baldwin and conservative commentator William F. Buckley at Cambridge University in 1965 discusses the realities of systemic oppression and how the American dream comes at the expense of inequality. The debate can be viewed on a Sept. 20, 2020 NPR (National Public Radio) “All Things Considered” article, “Reimagining The James Baldwin And William F. Buckley Debate.”

The Feb. 17 event is being orchestrated by the MHCC Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Mt. Hood Reads!; the college’s Multicultural and Diversity Resource Center; and its Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).

A link to the Zoom meeting will be added to the event calendar found here.