James Baldwin

James Baldwin was an African American writer of the Harlem Renaissance. He was a renowned novelist, essayist, playwright, and public figure who fought for social justice during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and throughout the remainder of his life. His writings on race, captured in part here, continue to influence social justice movements today, including, but not limited to, the Black Lives Matter movement.

Baldwin was born in Harlem and grew up poor. He refers to himself in this text as "a Harlem street boy.” (29). Baldwin's writings highlight the differences in life experience, even among members of the same nationwide struggle for civil rights. During his childhood, he was raised by his mother, Emma Berdis Jones, and his step-father, David Baldwin, who was a minister. In fact, in his early teenage years, James Baldwin himself served as a junior minister. However, this only lasted...