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Rhetorical Analysis Of A Talk To Teachers

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‘A Talk to Teachers’ by James Baldwin published on December 21, 1963 in New York was a message to teachers on how they are allowing the injustices of African-Americans to continue through the educational system. Baldwin ultimately wants the prejudice to end through the educational system. His tone tends to change but wants to evoke a sense of urgency to make teachers fix up the educational systems’ views on African-Americans and the false history that is being taught about them. Baldwin ultimately builds his credibility by using his own personal experience from going through the same educational system the present children go through today Baldwin starts off by listing injustices within the treatment of African-Americans ranging from when slavery …show more content…

Baldwin uses the pronoun “we” when mentioning their struggles. Even though he has not gone through slavery or racism himself, it shows that he has been affected by it from his ancestors. This causes his audience of white New York teachers to have a little bit of guilt inside of them since they have seen it happen and have not done much about it. Later on in his speech he connects it back to himself and his experiences on not letting the stereotype of African-Americans define who he is. Baldwin uses first person point of view saying “I” to show he has never been a stereotype, that stereotype being a watermelon loving African-American man. Essentially, making himself show how he is not chained to these stereotypes. Although these stereotypes were not created by his race, but was by certain racist white men. Baldwin goes into detail as he says “ I never touched a watermelon for all kinds of reasons that had been invented by white people (...) whatever you invent, is you!” displaying that he is not what certain whites project what African-Americans are to their eyes. Then going onto saying “A whole country of people believing I am a “nigger,” and I do not, and the battle is on! Because if I am not what I have been told I am, then it means you are not what you thought you were either!” Baldwin is explaining himself clear that he does not want to be the image that the educational system has put of him as being a “nigger”. Using a condemnatory tone, he establishes the audience to feel remorseful since he is trying to keep a false image to not define who he

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