Key context: The letter was written on the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, yet Baldwin notes how little had changed for African Americans in terms of true freedom and equality. This letter is Baldwin’s effort to instill a sense of pride, resilience, and hope in his nephew despite these ongoing challenges. 

Having finished reading and discussing Baldwin's Letter, it's our turn to impart wisdom.  Your task is to write a letter to someone younger—a sibling, cousin, niece, nephew, friend, MP freshman, future child, or even a younger version of yourself in your notebook.

In this letter, share your insights, advice, and encouragement based on your experiences to prepare them for this world. Think about what lessons you’ve learned that might help this person navigate challenges or find their own path in a world that can be so open and so closed off at the same time.

The exigence of this speech is Baldwin’s concern about how American education perpetuates racial injustice and oppression. Baldwin delivered this speech in New York City in October 1963, at the heigh of the Civil Rights Movement. He was addressing a group of educators at a conference, urging teachers of the critical need to transform the education system so that it stops indoctrinating students with a false sense of history and identity. He argues that education should empower students, especially Black and Brown students, to critically assess their society and its systemic inequalities. Baldwin wants teachers to help students recognize the lies they are told about their country and encourage them to become agents of change. His speech remains a powerful commentary on the role of education in both perpetuating and combating systemic oppression.