James Arthur Baldwin
The purpose of this guide is to provide curated, organized, and informative resources on the life and works of James Arthur Baldwin. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of material by and about Baldwin.
James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem, New York, on August 2, 1924, and died in Saint-Paul de Vence, France, on December 1, 1987. A Black man celebrated as a brilliant public intellectual, he was direct and uncompromising about the truth as he experienced it. As essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, social critic, and civil rights activist, he used his pen to express the anger, pain, and rage of twentieth-century Black American life. He was a trailblazer for the Queer community, weaving elements of his sexual experiences throughout his writings and living openly as a gay man during times of extreme homophobia. His work continues to inspire each generation that encounters it.
This guide was created by Kofi Acree, Director of the John Henrik Clarke Africana Library; send email.