James Baldwin’s Curriculum for White People
Abstract
This paper begins examining James Baldwin as a distinct curricular voice. Specifically, the paper examines the question of Baldwin’s contributions to curricular discussions of whiteness, white supremacy, and white privilege. Baldwin recognized that until white people took responsibility for the country’s history and present, and their role in that history, little about race relations would change in the United States. In four essays: “The White Problem,” “On Being White. . .And Other Lies,” “The White Man’s Guilt,” and “White Racism or World Community,” we observe Baldwin directly addressing white people or the question of whiteness. While Baldwin is often heralded as a prolific 20th century voice regarding racial dynamics within the Black community, this essay explicitly examines how Baldwin directly addressed white people, urging a re-examination and responsibility toward history as foundational to dismantling the moral failures of the United States as a racial project.
Presentation Description
This paper begins examining James Baldwin as a distinct curricular voice. Specifically, the paper examines the question of Baldwin’s contributions to curricular discussions of whiteness, white supremacy, and white privilege. Baldwin recognized that until white people took responsibility for the country’s history and present, and their role in that history, little about race relations would change in the United States. In four essays: “The White Problem,” “On Being White. . .And Other Lies,” “The White Man’s Guilt,” and “White Racism or World Community,” we observe Baldwin directly addressing white people or the question of whiteness. While Baldwin is often heralded as a prolific 20th century voice regarding racial dynamics within the Black community, this essay explicitly examines how Baldwin directly addressed white people, urging a re-examination and responsibility toward history as foundational to dismantling the moral failures of the United States as a racial project.
Location
Stream B: Curriculum Dialogues
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Eaton, Paul W., "James Baldwin’s Curriculum for White People" (2020). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 37.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2020/2020/37
James Baldwin’s Curriculum for White People
Stream B: Curriculum Dialogues
This paper begins examining James Baldwin as a distinct curricular voice. Specifically, the paper examines the question of Baldwin’s contributions to curricular discussions of whiteness, white supremacy, and white privilege. Baldwin recognized that until white people took responsibility for the country’s history and present, and their role in that history, little about race relations would change in the United States. In four essays: “The White Problem,” “On Being White. . .And Other Lies,” “The White Man’s Guilt,” and “White Racism or World Community,” we observe Baldwin directly addressing white people or the question of whiteness. While Baldwin is often heralded as a prolific 20th century voice regarding racial dynamics within the Black community, this essay explicitly examines how Baldwin directly addressed white people, urging a re-examination and responsibility toward history as foundational to dismantling the moral failures of the United States as a racial project.
