Résumé
Even if Baldwin's story takes place in 1935, the occurrences about slavery (which can be remembrances of the grown-ups, personal heritage of the youngest...) are extremely current. In fact, in Go Tell It on the Mountain, all the characters wear the stigmata of slavery, though it was banned in 1865; it continues to condition all their lives and it is mostly unconscious.
About this topic, we can observe three general behaviours, inspired directly from the life in plantations: need of guidance (which often leads the characters to another form of slavery); the shame and the guilt for being black; and finally, the reaction against their living conditions (by compensation, resistance, rebellion etc.).