This incident occurs after his father's funeral and his birthday party. This incident sparked a violent response between black people in the community and the police. The ensuing violence caused damage to white businesses. Baldwin's thoughts on the matter were simple: it was about making a choice. He gives an analogy of someone suffering an amputation and gangrene. The choices here are: amputation and then discover you don't need it, or wait too long and gangrene sets in. The premise here is that man must decide whether to live with hatred or not. Because living a life full of hate will sooner or later cause harm to your health in one form or another. Baldwin's reflection of him and his father going to Sunday school brought back memories of him reciting what he called the golden text. The things he learned from his father finally came to light after his death. From the course of things that transpired in Harlem during that summer, his father would say “this bitterness was madness” (James Baldwin