Today we launch the annual observance of Black History Month. And this year we will be focusing on some of the literary works that have inspired different movements towards Black equality. One of the most timely and well-known books written in the last century was the Black manifesto, The Fire Next Time. Written by the queer, civil rights activist James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time stirred the nation and fanned the flames of a Black revolution well in progress. And while there were dozens of writers who contributed to the amazing works that encouraged and motivated Black Americans during this time, Baldwin was by far one of the most poignant and influential.