If we -- and now I mean the relatively conscious whites and the relatively conscious blacks, who must, like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of the others -- do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world.

There's a lot to unpack in this small book. I'll be thinking on it for weeks, but in the meantime, I have little to say beyond this: The Fire Next Time is a hugely important book that changed my perspective on race relations (and especially the history of those relations) and broadened my understanding of America. Everyone should read this.