The following excerpt, “James Baldwin”, was taken from
Black Profiles: The North American Experience, Volume 1.
©2006 The Nubiano Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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“Know whence you came. If you know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go.”
“The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.”
The eldest of nine children, James Baldwin grew up in Harlem, New York. Before following his passion for writing, Baldwin was heavily pressured by his stepfather to become a minister. Their relationship was full of turmoil and often led Baldwin to “escape” his circumstance by going to the library. During this early part of his life, Baldwin became a preacher but struggled in the pulpit; he would later claim that his preaching years turned him into a writer. Not surprisingly, Baldwin’s writing style is reminiscent of church language and talk.
Eager to move forward, Baldwin knew that leaving home meant leaving the pulpit, so at 18, he transferred his faith from religion to literature. In Greenwich Village, Baldwin met writer Richard Wright, who helped Baldwin secure a grant that would allow him to support himself as a writer in Paris. In 1948, he moved to France, where he had the critical distance needed to write about American society. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, however, Baldwin frequently traveled between France and New York City.
Baldwin’s travels framed the perspective of his early works, as he focused on the social concerns of contemporary America. In the early 1960s, Baldwin returned to take part in the Civil Rights Movement. Traveling throughout the South, he began work on an explosive account about black identity and the state of race relations.
Baldwin’s literary achievements are many and include several noteworthy books that deal directly with race and homosexuality. Two of his more widely acclaimed works include Giovanni’s Room (1956) and Another Country (1962)—both of which ignited controversy within the black community for their candor. Baldwin is also the author of Notes for a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961), The Fire Next Time (1963), Blues for Mister Charlie (1964), Going to Meet the Man (1965) and Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone (1968).
As an openly gay black male, Baldwin brought complexity and humanity to the discussion about equal rights. He spent the last years of his life in France. Before he died in 1987, the French government made him a commander of the Legion of Honor, that country’s highest civilian award.
