His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America. Baldwin in 1969. Born August 2, 1924, in New York, NY; died of stomach cancer December 1, 1987, in St. Paul de Vence, France; son of David (a clergyman and factory worker) and Berdis (Jones) Baldwin. James Baldwin, American essayist, novelist, and playwright whose eloquence and passion on the subject of race in America made him an important voice, particularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the United States and, later, through much of western Europe. Few writers have managed to capture the experience of living as a Black person in America the way that the late James Baldwin did. New York City, New York, U.S. Died: December 1, 1987 (aged 63) Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. Returning to the United States after nine years abroad, Baldwin became known as the most eloquent literary spokesperson for the civil rights of African Americans.

James Baldwin. Who is James Baldwin And Why is he Important ?The writer? He was a prominent black gay artist in the 40/50s, when either of those things would get you lynched in the street. As the 1960s began—and violence in the South escalated—he became increasingly outraged. James Baldwin wrote a play before he was 11 years old. James Baldwin was born the illegitimate son of Emma Berdis Jones on August 2, 1924, in Harlem Hospital. He is noted for developing an early passion for reading such that he had a demonstrable writing skill. James Arthur Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924 in New York City’s Harlem and was raised under very trying circumstances. James Baldwin facts for kids. The oldest of nine children, he grew up in poverty, developing a troubled relationship with his strict, religious stepfather. James Baldwin — the grandson of a slave — was born in Harlem in 1924. One of his teachers directed the play at his elementary school. James Arthur Baldwin, fiction writer, essayist, dramatist, and poet, was born on August 2, 1924 in Harlem, New York during the Harlem Renaissance. James Baldwin made this somber observation more than 50 years ago. This led him to write several poems, short plays, and stories for publishing in his school journal. In James's third year, his mother married the Reverend David Baldwin, a fire and brimstone lay preacher, who legally adopted James. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx in 1942, he began his formal career as a writer. Maya Angelou credited him for "setting the stage" for her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” released that same year. Jameswent to High School in the Bronx district and was in DeWitt Clinton High School for that stage of education.

James Baldwin at age 45 in Istanbul, Turkey on Dec. 19, 1969. American novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist James Baldwin poses at his home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southern France, on November 6, 1979. Born: James Arthur Baldwin August 2, 1924. A popular speaker on the lecture circuit, Baldwin quickly discovered that social conditions for African Americans had become even more bleak while he was abroad. Kids Encyclopedia Facts. Those early scripts marked him out as a litera… Essay by James A. Baldwin, first published in Harper's Magazine (1953), republished in James A. Baldwin "Notes of a Native Son" (1955), and later quoted in "Black Body: Rereading James Baldwin's 'Stranger in the Village'" by Teju Cole, www.newyorker.com.

Quick Facts Name James Baldwin Birth Date August 2, 1924 Death Date December 1, 1987 Education The New School, DeWitt Clinton High School Place of Birth He was in tandem with Richard Avedon, who later went on to hit photographic acclaim. Youth minister at Fireside Pentecostal Assembly, New York City, 1938-42; variously employed as a handyman, dishwasher, waiter, and office boy in New York City, and in defense work in Belle Meade, NJ, 1942-46.

Education: Graduate of De Witt Clinton High School, New York, NY.

Writer, 1944-87. He wrote a lot of essays, poems, social criticism and a couple novels. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son, explore intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America. Lecturer on racial issues in the Unite… James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, playwright, and activist. James attended Public School 24 in Harlem, where he met a young white teacher named Orilla Miller. Nationality: American: Occupation: Writer: Years active: 1947–1985: Notable work . Baldwin responded with three powerful books of essays: Nobody Knows My Name (1961), Th…