By: Tory Davis
Born on August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York, James Baldwin is known as one of the brilliant minds in literary history. Known widely in the African-American community as an eloquent writer, author, activist, and scholar, James Baldwin’s contributions to the African-American community continue to resonate throughout the world for his complex views on identity, sexuality, poverty, and social justice. Baldwin’s poetic and provocative writings have captured worldwide attention. Baldwin’s views on oppression and racism can still be examined in Pan-African studies coursework, contributing to the ongoing dialogue about black liberation. James Baldwin cemented his legacy by being unapologetically himself and sharing his work to bring about change worldwide.
Growing up in Harlem, James Baldwin was the eldest of nine children born to his mother. Baldwin’s father was not present during his adolescence, but he was raised by his stepfather, a minister who instilled Christianity in James Baldwin from an early age. In Baldwin’s teenage years, he became a minister, but after deep diving into Christianity, he realized it wasn’t conducive to the life he wanted. As Baldwin turned away from Christianity and focused more on his writing career, he received recognition for his work, which gained him a fellowship to pursue his literary efforts full-time.
1948 was a significant time in James Baldwin’s life. He was displeased with the systematic racism of American society, so he moved to Paris, France, to escape the terror of being amid poverty, racism, oppression, and other disparities that African American people faced. His first novel, written in his newfound home of Paris, France, was titled “Go Tell it on the Mountain.” Go Tell It on the Mountain was considered the inception of James Baldwin’s literary career. His novel explored his life, his experiences with religion, and his struggles as a black man in America. “Unhappy in New York, where he knew it was impossible to fully live his identity as a black gay man, James Baldwin survived on newspaper articles in Greenwich Village, where he met his mentor Richard Wright, another icon of African-American literature. And like Wright, Baldwin finally sought refuge in Paris in 1948. He stayed for eight years, where he wrote his first and greatest novel, La Conversion (1953), a semi-autobiographical masterpiece exploring the racial and religious problems of African-American Pentecostals.
A great reader of Balzac, Baldwin found in Paris not only a place to work, but also a literary subject. The city even became the backdrop for his second novel, La chambre de Giovanni (1956): “We loved every inch of France: the jam sessions in Pigalle, the nights spent smoking in Arab cafés, the mornings when we reminisced about our exploits in working-class cafés.”
Leading a bohemian life from hotel to hotel, Baldwin, like his characters, haunted the cafés of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a favorite haunt of the intellectual and cultural elite of the time. A lifelong introvert, he developed a thriving social life, frequenting the capital’s gay bars, debating with Sartre and Beauvoir, and befriending other renowned expatriates such as Maya Angelou and Beauford Delaney.” (newyork.consulfrance.org p.1)
Bladwin continued his literary efforts on his terms and focused his attention on the Civil Rights Movement. Baldwin found his way back to America during the movement’s height, where he wrote about figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and more. Baldwin didn’t align himself with the faces of the Civil Rights Movement, but he shared the same sentiments in longing for racial equality. Baldwin speaks on the Civil Rights movement by stating, “Blacks must do the imagining, then. Simply replicating the treatment they have suffered will not do; nor will a proposed black societal divorce and divestment. Baldwin ends his essay by critically challenging and logically defeating such proposals. Where would a newly “freed” people go, once freed? How would they fund themselves? Baldwin insists that such a divorce would be hard-pressed to succeed when the two communities are so inextricably bound
together. Each community’s claim to an identity beyond the actual—for whites, it is Europe, and for blacks, Africa—is illusory.” (Dudley, p.9)
James Baldwin succumbed to stomach cancer and passed away on December 1st, 1987. His life and legacy will always be remembered as a leader through his writings, essays, novels, and public appearances, as a man who discussed race, oppression, religion, homosexuality and queer identitues. Baldwin’s death marked the end of his literary career, but his work lives on. Notable figures such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and more have expressed condolences and spoken on how James Baldwin’s work will live on forever as trailblazing literature exploring many black identity topics. James Baldwin will always be a writer whose voice refused to be silent in the wake of black social justice, identity, and imagination.
Works Cited:
Dudley, Marc. “Eyes on the Prize: Baldwin, the Essay, and Civil Rights Discourse.” Understanding James Baldwin, University of South Carolina Press, 2019, pp. 55–81. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv7r41k9.7. Accessed 2 May 2025.
“Black History Month – James Baldwin, the Civil Rights Writer.” Consulat Général de France à New York, newyork.consulfrance.org/black-history-month-james-baldwin-the-civil-rights-writer.
James Baldwin – Biography -Life Story. (n.d.). http://Www.youtube.com. Retrieved October 15, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z36s156pFA
Pan African Studies Encyclopedia 