There are woes coast to coast. Not to mention those alarming statistics about black men locked away in prisons. According to Justice Department numbers, there'll be a million blacks behind bars by next year. It is estimated that 1 in 7 black males have felony records, keeping them away from the ballot box in many states. Baldwin's prose would have erupted at such revelations.
Blacks say they are weary of talking about race.
Fannie Lou Hamer used to say she was ''sick and tired of being sick and tired.'' Her words weren't poetry, but they are remembered. She was a Mississippi Freedom Rider. She was somebody. Whites are asked to step into the breach. According to a lot of experts, whites do not come to the table easily.