A Curriculum for Growth: James Baldwin on the Evasiveness of White Innocence

• In Event: Race, Gender, and Power in Reimagining the History of American Curriculum

Abstract

James Baldwin offers a compelling account of racism that offers readers unparalleled opportunities for learning and growth. At the center of Baldwin’s account is his diagnosis of the myth of white innocence. While innocence is often contrasted with guilt, Baldwin’ aim is not—as it were—to burden his readers with a guilty conscience. Instead, Baldwin challenges us to do the far more difficult thing: to work from innocence and to a place where growth and maturity are possible. While guilt is not a constitutive part of this type of growth and maturity, growth and maturity are impossible if Americans continue to evade the reality of their history and its continuing significance.

Author

• Jeffery M. Frank, Sweet Briar College