Ezra's Bookshelf

The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr. and the Debate Over Race in America

by Nicholas Buccola · 504 pages · ~9 hrs

HistoryRace & Identity

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In February 1965, James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. debated the proposition that the American Dream has been achieved at the expense of the American Negro before an audience at the Cambridge Union. Baldwin spoke first and received a standing ovation; the students voted overwhelmingly in his favor. Political scientist Nicholas Buccola reconstructs the debate and the lives that led both men to that stage. Baldwin grew up poor and Black in Harlem, became a novelist and essayist of extraordinary power, and spoke for a movement demanding recognition of Black humanity. Buckley grew up wealthy and white in Connecticut, founded the conservative National Review, and defended the Southern way of life against federal interference. The book traces their parallel paths and occasional intersections, placing the debate within the context of the Civil Rights movement and conservative reaction. Buccola analyzes their arguments in detail, showing how each drew on different traditions and spoke to different audiences. The debate crystallized opposed visions of American identity that persist today. Baldwin's argument that the country must confront its racial history and Buckley's defense of gradual change within existing structures remain templates for contemporary positions. Readers interested in Civil Rights history, conservative thought, or the power of rhetoric will find this account illuminating.

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