byconsists of two separate essays: "Letter to my Nephew on
the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation," and "Down At The CrossLetter from a
Region of My Mind." The second essay in particular focuses on Baldwin's involvement in the
Christian church as a child and young man. As he notes,
Because I was raised in a Christian culture I never considered myself to be a totally
free human being.
After a childhood spent in the
Christian church, Baldwin reveals that he became a minister while still in his teens, a decision
that was motivated at least in part by his desire to stay out of trouble and off the streets.
Baldwin later became disenchanted by Christianity, or rather by the hypocritical manner in which
his fellow Christians had behaved. Even when he no longer believed in Christianity as a
religion, Baldwin still believed that the same Christian ideals that honor basic human dignity
should be present in our everyday interactions...
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