James Baldwin. Steve Schapiro. The Fire Next Time

In his 1963 published essay *The Fire Next Time*, the African American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin (1924–1987) addressed the "nightmare of the race problem" in the USA and the anger in the ghettos of US cities in such a compelling, artful, and poignant way that it gained worldwide attention. In the form of a fragmentary, episodic personal testimony, his influential text revealed the full complexity of this issue and dealt with central questions such as the construction of private and social identity in light of the role expectations imposed by the white majority society and one’s own peer group.

Even more than 30 years after Baldwin's death, being Black in the USA still means a life threatened by racism and violence, and *The Fire Next Time* remains depressingly topical. Baldwin found the admonishing and now widely quoted title in a spiritual: "God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water, fire next time!“ We have illustrated James Baldwin's legendary text with over 100 photographs by Steve Schapiro, who traveled through the southern United States with Baldwin for Life magazine. Schapiro's images show the leading figures of the civil rights movement – including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Jerome Smith – as well as key events such as the March on Washington and the Selma march. The edition is rounded off with a first-hand account by Schapiro, an introduction by the legendary civil rights activist and U.S. Congressman John Lewis, captions by Marcia Davis of the Washington Post, and an essay by Gloria Baldwin Karefa-Smart, who lived in Sierra Leone with her brother James when he began writing this text. Originally published as a Collector’s Edition – now available in this handy anniversary edition in honor of Baldwin's 100th birthday.