This is a perfect example of "right book, right time." I remember being in awe of Baldwin's work when I first read it in high school, but a bit confused by "all that stuff about Elijah Muhammad."

Now that I'm having a religious reckoning of sorts, The Fire Next Time is meaningful in an entirely new way. Baldwin reclaims the language of morality—from the black church, from the Nation of Islam, and from white America—in a way that allows him to make an incisive, unwavering charge to those of us who believe. We must, he pleads, serve a God who serves justice to the oppressed.

It's not often that one book puts about ten others (black liberation theology, histories of the Nation, all other Baldwin) onto your TBR, but this is thankfully the case! I'm already excited to see what The Fire Next Time will mean for me the next time I read it. If you've been a bit world-weary, it's a clear, galvanizing read that will quickly reignite your passion and pursuit of racial justice (in all its forms.)