The Burning House: Revolution and Black Art

In a 1961 radio discussion about Black art and its relationship to Black nationalism, Lorraine Hansberry asked: “Is it necessary to integrate oneself into a burning house?” James Baldwin quoted Hansberry in The Fire Next Time without citing her—words that circulated widely in the Black liberation movement. Variously attributed to Malcolm X, Baldwin, and King, Hansberry’s role in this literary political genealogy has been unacknowledged. She was riffing on Malcolm X’s idea of Islam as a “flaming fire.” But he also developed his parable of the master’s house on fire after Baldwin quoted Hansberry’s words, using the burning house as a symbol of revolution, class struggle, and the relationship between property and citizenship rights in a racial capitalist system. That Malcolm X influenced the Black Arts Movement is widely acknowledged, but he also read, listened to, and conversed with leftist artists, writers, and intellectuals that influenced the development of his own thought and rhetoric. This article explores the call and response between these intellectuals, their critique of integration, and call for a radical Black art—looking at Hansberry’s seminal contribution to these debates.