James Baldwin

American writer and civil rights activist

“Going to Meet the Man” takes place in an unnamed own in the

American South in the early 1960s. Jesse—a 42-year-old white
police officer—is unable to stay erect while having sex with his
wife Grace. As she falls asleep, Jesse tells her about his difficult
day at work, using racist slurs and degrading language when
referring to Black people. He explains how civil rights protestors
blocked traffic while standing in line to register to vote, and
how, even in the face of arrests from his fellow officer Big Jim
C., they refused to move. Jesse’s job was to make the jailed
protestors stop singing, so he targeted the protest leader,
feeling both disgust and excitement as he tortured the man.
Despite nearly passing out, the protestor refused to ask the
others to stop singing.

Jesse stops speaking and the story becomes a flashback. The

protestor reminds Jesse that they met years ago when Jesse
worked for a mail-order business. In another flashback, Jesse
remembers meeting the protestor as a boy when coming to
collect payment from the boy’s grandmother. The boy subtly
chides Jesse for not using his grandmother’s full name (referred
to her only as “Old Julia”). Back in the jailhouse, Jesse is full of
rage and beats the protestor more aggressively, appalled to find
himself sexually aroused. He leaves the cell and thinks about
how the times have changed with all of this protesting—Black
people used to be agreeable and keep to themselves, while
white people used to feel safe and in control.