Growing up as an African American man in the early 40's posed several hardships. Not only having to deal with the everyday "trials" of becoming a man, there were the hardships of racism. In the collection of essays written by James Baldwin titled, "Notes of a Native Son" you are taken into the everyday life of a young "black" man trying to find himself in a "white  man's world." Catherine Dybiec Holm an award winning author and yoga instructor from Minnesota, author of "Critical Essay on "Notes of a Native Son" writes "The common theme that unites these different slants is a pronounced fatalism - an African-American person can never escape the constraints and expectations that society puts upon them. , which brings us to the conclusion that an African American person will face racism, ill treatment and poor opportunities throughout their life. The world which a child is raised will create how they will live their entire life. It is easier to teach hatred then it is to unlearn it. Within the third paragraph of "Notes of a Native Son , Baldwin writes, "He was of the first generation of free men.  He is referring to his father who along with several other African's who traveled North after 1919. Even though his father was a "free  man, he would still be judged and tormented by the color of his skin. "The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors" (823). Baldwin's father would only see the negative side of living among the whites. Even the kindness of a young white teacher would leave Baldwin's father suspicious, "he never trusted her  (824). A negative feeling is a bad habit to break. Even after kind gestures such as the young lady bestowed on the family, could not replace years of mistreatment. African American's were "free  but they were not equal by any means. This was a time of the "whites only  signs posted outside stores and restaurant's forbidding a person of color to use thes