1924-1987

"James Baldwin was an author, social critic, and activist known for his . . . understanding of race and class in the United States. This book introduces readers to his speech from a 1965 debate at Cambridge University in which he argues for racial equality in the civil rights era. The social and political circumstances of the era are discussed as well as Baldwin's persuasive argument that, despite contributing to the making of the United States, African Americans are not allowed to fully participate in the American Dream"--Provided by publisher.

Examines the life of social advocate and author James Baldwin, including his childhood, his career, and more.

"James Baldwin grew disillusioned by the failure of the Civil Rights movement to force America to confront its lies about race. In the era of Trump, what can we learn from his struggle? Mixing biography--drawn partially from . . . interviews--with history, memoir, and trenchant analysis of our . . . moment, [this book] is [the author's] attempt, following Baldwin, to bear witness to the difficult truth of race in America. It is at once an . . . exploration that lays bare the tangled web of race, trauma, and memory, and an . . . interrogation of what we all must ask of ourselves in order to call forth a new America"--Provided by publisher.

"In 1963 Attorney General Robert Kennedy sought out James Baldwin to explain the rage that threatened to engulf black America. Baldwin brought along some friends, including playwright Lorraine Hansberry, psychologist Kenneth Clark, and activist Jerome Smith. Kennedy walked away from the nearly three-hour meeting angry--that the black folk assembled didn't understand politics, that they weren't as easy to talk to as Martin Luther King, that they were more interested in witness than policy. Every big argument about race that persists to this day got a hearing in that room. Dyson believes we need a return to that discussion, talking across the chasm of color, with hope as our guide"--Adapted from publisher info and text material.

When, in the fall of 1987, the poet Quincy Troupe traveled to the south of France to interview James Baldwin, Baldwin's brother David told him to ask Baldwin about everything--Baldwin was critically ill and David knew that this might be the writer's last chance to speak at length about his life and work. The result is one of the most eloquent and revelatory interviews of Baldwin's career, a conversation that ranges widely over such topics as his childhood in Harlem, his close friendship with Miles Davis, his relationship with writers like Toni Morrison and Richard Wright, his years in France, and his ever-incisive thoughts on the history of race relations and the African-American experience. Also collected here are significant interviews from other moments in Baldwin's life, including an in-depth interview conducted by Studs Terkel shortly after the publication of Nobody Knows My Name. These interviews showcase, above all, Baldwin's fearlessness and integrity as a writer, thinker, and individual.

Chronicles the life and career of author and civil rights activist James Baldwin.

Presents African-American author James Baldwin's letter to his nephew from the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, in which he discusses his childhood, Black Muslims, and race in America; and includes seven related writings including stories, essays, a speech, a song, and an interview with Malcolm X.

A collection of essays, articles, and reviews by the late author James Baldwin includes pieces that explore such topics as religious fundamentalism, Russian literature, and the possibility of an African-American president.

Documents the story of writer James Baldwin's friendship and creative partnership with editor, novelist, and playwright Sol Stein, who encouraged Baldwin to publish "Notes of a Native Son," with letters, photographs, and works the two created jointly, including "Dark Runner.".

The author shares his views of black thought and the conditions of black life in America during the 1940's and early 1950's.