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Critical Reception
In the 1985 New York Times review, John Flemming gives a brief synopsis of the Child Murders, acknowledging Baldwin's account of the grotesque nature of not only the murders themselves, but the state of race relations in America. Flemming writes Baldwin's sentiment after arriving in Atlanta to write the essay for Playboy Magazine, where during his investigations and research he felt like a stranger in the city. His repeated mention of Baldwin's assessment of Wayne Williams's trial reflects a major part of his essay, where Baldwin acknowledges Williams's behavior as abnormal, but he still believed the trial to be a focus of skepticism.

A Kirkus Review published in October 1985 states that Baldwin “delivers his judgement in cranky, idiosyncratic exposition that links the state of race relations with the prosecution of Williams.” [6] The review also acknowledges that “Baldwin has penetrated a sensational crime with his considerable novelist’s skill for seeing things the rest of us don’t.” [6]

In Richard Schur's review of Baldwin's work, he ties the essay's publication date in the 1980's as part of a collective effort by intellectuals and activists to criticize the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's legal strategy in garnering freedom and equality for black folk. Schur canvases Baldwin's disposition concerning the failure of legal activists to realize that eradicating legal, racist doctrines were insufficient in rehabilitating the lives of African Americans. Moreover, Schur states that Baldwin believed evaluating the evidence during the Civil Rights Movement would have been more practical than eradicating racist laws, which would have been able to dissolve conditioning taking place between courts, judges and juries.

Background
Baldwin’s essay was commissioned by Walter Lowe Jr., the first black editor of Playboy magazine.[2] Lowe wrote a letter to Baldwin in Saint-Paul de Vence, suggesting Baldwin fly to Atlanta to write about the ongoing disappearances of black children going on there.[2] Lowe wanted Baldwin's "outsider" view on the heinous situation. Although Baldwin was writing as a reporter, he also incorporated his natural voice that is reflected by his extensive collection of works that existed prior to 1985. His writing is widely known for his radical social observations, harsh criticisms, and his vocalized outlook towards America's treatment towards the black community. Baldwin, who at 14 became a successful junior minister at Fireside Pentacostal Assembly, frequently quotes the Bible in his work and this essay, despite leaving the pulpit at age 17 being disillusioned with the church.[4] The title for this essay is one such reference, quoting a letter to the Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  According to the forward of the 1995 edition, written by Harvard Law’s first tenured black professor and champion of critical race theory, Derrick Bell, the essay “eschews a search for clues and, instead, undertakes an exploration for truths.”[3]