“A Letter to My Nephew,” published in The Progressive

KARIM KAREFA: Uncle Jimmy, he said that, you know, it took him some time to vomit up a lot of the things that American society said about him or made him feel about himself as a Black man.

HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.: Karim Karefa is the son of Gloria Karefa-Smart, James Baldwin’s sister and longtime personal assistant. Karim is one of Baldwin’s many nieces and nephews.

KAREFA: What we have here is a copy of The Progressive magazine, the issue for December 1962. This is the first appearance of Uncle Jimmy’s essay, “Letter to My Nephew.” This is Uncle Jimmy’s own copy of the magazine.

GATES: One month after the letter was published in The Progressive, it was included as the first of the two powerful essays that make up The Fire Next Time.

KAREFA: So, “Letter to my Nephew” was a letter that Uncle Jimmy wrote to his namesake and firstborn nephew, James Mitchell. Now, “Letter to My Nephew” is very important because it’s basically Uncle Jimmy giving James a look into what to expect living and growing up as a Black man in this country.

GATES: Though Baldwin addressed it to his nephew, the letter in fact aimed to reach a much wider audience: from other Black boys on the verge of adulthood to readers who considered themselves far removed from the concerns of Black America.

KAREFA: The gist of the letter is: “I’m letting you know that there are going to be difficult times. There are things that you’re going to go through, challenges that you’re going to come across being a Black man, and how you are perceived by your countrymen.” You know, ”You’re perceived as a threat. You will not be judged based on the content of your character, but more so of how they see you and your appearance. And a lot of that is based in fear. So I want to give you some tools to navigate society and enable you to have a better chance at moving through it than I did.” Not much has changed today. A lot of Black families have to have those talks with their children and among their families about how to navigate the world when they step outside the door. 

GATES: Though Baldwin’s letter is at times angry, the driving force behind it is love: the frustrated love he felt for our country, which, to his death, he believed could change for the better; as well as the profound, sustaining love he felt for his family.

KAREFA: My uncle was always very much plugged into his family when he came home, and I think he needed it. It was part of his recharging. He soaked up all of that energy from his family and took it back with him on his travels. Uncle Jimmy had a very, very impactful life, but his family was very much a big part of that. They were the foundation for him to stand on, and why he felt comfortable being in the world.