Today we reflected on the theme "love" in a freewrite. We then read James Baldwin's letter to his nephew and talked about arguments posed, along with the thesis. Rudy brought in a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and read it. In looking at the date the Letter was published, we concluded that Baldwin’s letter reference January 1, 1863.

In the second English 1A class, Mung shared his drawing portfolio and then we sang Happy Birthday to Marcus, who is now 19. The discussion then turned to the syntactic subtleties in the terms: fact, explanation, opinion, interpretation, assumption, and conclusion. We also spoke about the role of individual experience and how this shapes our perceptions and biases. We tried an experiment in definition to see if we could agree on "survival" and what one would need to survive. After air, water, food, and sunshine, it went downhill fast as the list took on a life of its own depending on who help its reins. Love, like survival is an abstract term, which cannot be evaluated empirically, which makes such concepts hard to agree on.

I am looking forward to seeing what objects you will bring in tomorrow that symbolize love. We spoke about the typical ones: chocolate, red roses, champagne, presents, cards.... in another class. In that class we also looked at the Greek terms for the more common facets of love: Agape, Eros, and Philia.

The thesis for the Baldwin essay on page 7 which says that love is what survival is all about. James, Baldwin's nephew is thriving despite the forecast, because he is "loved hard, at once, and forever, to strengthen [him] against a loveless world [a world that thought him worthless just because he was black]. If [his family] had not loved each other," Baldwin writes, "none of them would have survived" (7).

Alice Walker's life is testament to this love also. When I think about the discrimination of black community in this country over and over again in the name of urban renewal, development and dubious progress, I think about the dismantling of an important support system, one Baldwin deemed necessary for our survival: black community a place filled with love.

Look at the demise of so many young people today. I think it can be traced to the absence of love in their lives because 145 years after Emancipation there are those who believe that "James' imprisonment makes them safe" (9). Hurricane Katrina was a reminder that black people are not considered citizens. Baldwin tells James, "[W]e with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease fleeing from reality and begin to chance it. [T]his is your home, my friend, do not be driven from it" (10).