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1. How did a quote within James Baldwin's book The Fire Next Time inspire Jesmyn ward to put together her own collection to create The Fire This Time?

When Jesmyn Ward read a particular quote from James Baldwin's book saying that "the only way you can be destroyed is to believe that you are what the white world calls a nigger" (7), she felt as if a kind father was speaking directly to her. She felt that she was being told that she is worthy of love and that she is worth something in the world. Reading this quote inspired her to "call on some of the great thinkers and extraordinary voices" (7) of her generation to help her and others figure out the puzzle that is African-American life.

2. What does Jesmyn Ward list among the issues with which black people in America are exhausted?

Jesmyn Ward writes that black people in America are tired of having to explain to their children why they are seen as less than by most of America and that they are tired of having to teach their children how to behave around police to avoid being killed. Lastly, she says that black people in America are tired of feeling futile in the face of a country whose whole history has been built on the subjugation of their people.

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