Although it is never specified why the black man was lynched, the focus is on Jesse's mother and her beauty, "she was more beautiful than he had ever seen her. , suggests that the African-American man was lynched because of his interracial relationship with a white woman. If this is true, I would suggest that Jesse's final impersonation of a black man during a sexual encounter demonstrates Jesse's ability to dictate when and where blackness is appropriate. To get an erection, Jesse must invent a hypothetical scenario in which he himself is black but has white male privilege. In doing so, Jesse reasserts his sense of control and continues his tradition of white supremacy. Although Brims claims that the final scene is about the absence of race or a future of "racial ambiguity" (151), I believe that Baldwin is attempting to show his audience how white supremacy is a conflict that hinders the individual on an intimate and personal level. Through Jesse, we can see how thoughts of hatred can cause a person to become emotionally disconnected from themselves and their surroundings; which leads to an emotional death of self. To have passion in his life, to make love with his wife, Jesse must bring to life what he hates most. In doing so, we see how injustice based on difference harms not only the victim, but also