The argument of Baldwin’s piece Letter to My Nephew is that any colored person should stand up and speak for themselves. Do not let what others say about you become true. Do not let anyone judge you by your cover. Baldwin emphasizes James to share it to, to share their history with his future children and grandchildren. Let your countrymen accept you for who you are. James must stand up for himself and for his fellow brothers. Baldwin goes about making this argument by describing what he had been through. His uncle struggled and is still struggling. Then he goes on about the sacrifices that their family made and tells James to not be afraid. Indeed, Uncle James wrote this letter to James; however, Uncle James only use his nephew as a pawn/ example.

Baldwin’s main intention is to get out the message to the people in the world. I know this because I feel like if he is writing it to his nephew only, then he would sound maybe angrier or show a side of him that can be only seen by family members? This can be one of its constraints. The letter that he wrote is like a motivational speech and less of a letter. Baldwin states, “This crime of which I accuse my country and my countrymen and for which I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it” (8). Baldwin handles the situation by stating the fact that they did actually destroy many innocent lives. He later states, “I know your countrymen do not agree with me about this, and I hear them saying, ‘You exaggerate.’ They do not know Harlem, and I do.” (10). Baldwin is basically speaking from the perspective of the whites and also adding them into the conversation. He does not say any harsh words; Baldwin uses logic and reasoning to argue and persuade people to rise up.