He notes that followers of Elijah Muhammad tend to view white men as "devils," or evil incarnate. Baldwin later expounds on this theme in his second letter, when he once again brings up white innocence as a problem that must be faced before race relations can improve. Even more than their mistreatment of African Americans, they are to blame for refusing to face this fact. He first references this recurring theme in his letter to James, when he claims that, in regards to white people, “it is the innocence which constitutes the crime.” In other words, white Americans’ presumption of innocence is the “crime” he is accusing them of. Baldwin continuously refers to the presumed "innocence" of white people, which he identifies as one of the root problems in America.
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