James Baldwin's assertion from his quote is that everybody is guilty, thus we should move on from that guilt and leave it in the past. More specifically, Baldwin suggests that being guilty for something that happened in the past is a waste of time; "Guilt is a luxury that we can no longer afford." Baldwin is basically saying, "Even though me or you did not do anything, we are still to blame. Now that we have established that nobody but everybody is to blame, let us move on."
The author supports his assertion through the rhetorical device of tone. The author's tone is very blunt and serious. For example in his quote he does not sugar coat anything, he directly calls you out. "You are responsible for it". He does not call you out in a bad way because he calls himself out too, establishing a connection that this concerns everybody.
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