Racism And Violence In James Baldwin's Going To Meet The Man

Millie Speed

Ellene McCrimon

American Literature II

10 July 2023

How James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” Addresses Racism and Violence During the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was a nationwide attempt for African Americans to reach equality, justice, and inclusion, but at what cost? “Going to Meet the Man,” is a short story written by African American author James Baldwin. He writes to depict the racial profiling and violence African Americans experienced in the South. During the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were on the fence of either being treated better or worse for the skin color they were born with. Novels and short stories were an attempt to display the raw emotions Africans Americans were negatively facing. Since

“Going to Meet the Man'' is written from the perspective of a white police-officer named Jesse. Jesse’s personal life and upbringing exemplifies the process of how most white Americans were brainwashed into believing African Americans were their enemies. (Mahon, Hannah) Likewise, Jesse’s fellow officer, Big Jim, is an African American who is forced to torture black protestors alongside Jesse. From the start of this short story, scenes of horrific torture, murder, and racism are graphicly described. (Mahon, Hannah) Furthermore, there are also depictions of sexual gratification that play a role in this story. During this time period, this was a reality for African Americans. A reality that history should never repeat itself. James Baldwin uses “Going to Meet the Man” to

As the story progresses, the readers see a more in-depth explanation of what happened to his childhood friend Otis. Baldwin writes, “The head was caved in, one eye was torn out, one ear was hanging. But one had to look carefully to realize this, for it was, now, merely, a black charred object on the black, charred ground” (“Going to Meet the Man”). The violence that African Americans experienced was horrid and inexcusable. In the fight for their rights, they lose their lives and the lives of close family and friends. Baldwin applies gruesome descriptions of what happened if a protester did not obey the policemen. At the beginning of the story, Jesse is telling his wife about his day. He goes into detail about what had happened to a young ringleader of the protests. Jesse states, “He was lying on the ground jerking and moaning…blood was coming out of his ears from where Big Jim and his boys had whipped him. Wouldn't you think they’d learn” (“Going to Meet the Man”). Even though it is not described, the pain Big Jim must have felt when beating and torturing someone of the same heritage had left scarred memories. This violence would have never occurred if racism and exclusion was a driving force during this time period. The violence afflicted to those trying to be equal to others tore a hole into this nation. A hole that was caused by Jim Crow Laws