Childhood and Education Journey of James Baldwin in Timeline
Discover the defining moments in the early life of James Baldwin. From birth to education, explore key events.
James Baldwin was a prominent African-American writer and civil rights activist known for his insightful essays, novels, and plays. His works, such as *Go Tell It on the Mountain* and *Notes of a Native Son*, explored themes of race, sexuality, and identity in America. Baldwin's powerful voice and eloquent prose made him a significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement, advocating for human equality and challenging societal norms through his writing and public speaking.
1903: Emma Berdis Jones Born
In 1903, Emma Berdis Jones, James Baldwin's mother, was born on Deal Island, Maryland, eventually fleeing racial segregation and discrimination in the South during the Great Migration.
1919: David Baldwin Moves to Harlem
In 1919, David Baldwin, James Baldwin's stepfather, moved from the South to Harlem, New York.
August 2, 1924: James Baldwin Born
On August 2, 1924, James Arthur Baldwin, born James Arthur Jones, was born in Harlem, New York City, to Emma Berdis Jones. This marked the beginning of the life of a writer and civil rights activist.
1927: Emma Jones Marries David Baldwin
In 1927, Emma Jones married David Baldwin, a laborer and Baptist preacher, who became James Baldwin's stepfather.
1937: Joins Mount Calvary of the Pentecostal Faith Church
In 1937, James Baldwin, feeling uncomfortable with his attraction to men, joined Mount Calvary of the Pentecostal Faith Church on Lenox Avenue, seeking refuge in religion.
1937: First Published Essay
In the autumn of 1937, James Baldwin's first published essay, "Harlem—Then and Now," appeared in the Douglass Pilot, the school newspaper of Frederick Douglass Junior High School, where Herman W. "Bill" Porter was the faculty advisor and a key influence.
1938: Graduation from Frederick Douglass Junior High
In 1938, James Baldwin graduated from Frederick Douglass Junior High, marking the end of his time at the school where he was influenced by Herman W. "Bill" Porter and Countee Cullen.
1938: Enrollment at De Witt Clinton High School
In 1938, James Baldwin was accepted and enrolled at De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx, a predominantly white and Jewish school.
1941: Graduation from De Witt Clinton High School
In 1941, James Baldwin completed his high school diploma at De Witt Clinton, listing his career ambition as "novelist-playwright" in the yearbook.
1941: Final Sermon at Fireside Pentecostal
In 1941, James Baldwin delivered his final sermon at Fireside Pentecostal Assembly, marking the end of his time as "Brother Baldwin" and his growing disillusionment with the church.
1941: Leaves School to Support Family
In 1941, James Baldwin left school to help support his family, securing a job building a United States Army depot in New Jersey.
1942: Track-Laying Job in Belle Mead
In 1942, Emile Capouya helped James Baldwin get a job laying tracks for the military in Belle Mead, New Jersey, where Baldwin experienced prejudice and discrimination.
June 1943: Returns to Harlem and Takes Meat-Packing Job
In June 1943, James Baldwin returned to Harlem and took a meat-packing job after being fired from the track-laying job, marking a period of instability and financial struggle.
1943: David Baldwin's Death
In 1943, David Baldwin, James Baldwin's stepfather, died of tuberculosis after being committed to a mental asylum. His funeral coincided with James Baldwin's 19th birthday and the start of the Harlem riot.
1943: Lucien Carr Murders David Kammerer
In 1943, Lucien Carr, a Columbia University undergraduate, murdered David Kammerer near the Hudson River after Kammerer made sexual advances. Carr stabbed Kammerer and disposed of the body in the river, an event that later inspired the murder plot in Baldwin's novel.
1944: Meets Marlon Brando
In 1944, James Baldwin met Marlon Brando at a theater class at The New School, beginning a long-lasting friendship.
1944: Lucien Carr Murders David Kammerer
In 1944, Lucien Carr, a Columbia University undergraduate, was involved in the murder of David Kammerer near the Hudson River. This event served as inspiration for a murder within Baldwin's novel.
1945: Meets Richard Wright
Near the end of 1945, James Baldwin met Richard Wright to discuss an early manuscript of "Go Tell It On The Mountain," then titled "Crying Holy."
1946: Eugene Worth's Suicide
In 1946, Eugene Worth, James Baldwin's love interest during his Village years, died by suicide after jumping from the George Washington Bridge.
November 11, 1948: Moves to Paris
On November 11, 1948, James Baldwin moved to Paris, France, after receiving a Rosenwald Fellowship, seeking a more peaceful existence away from the racial discrimination in America.
1948: Reunion with Richard Wright in Paris
In 1948, James Baldwin reunited with Richard Wright in Paris, France, though their relationship soon deteriorated.
December 1949: Arrested for Receiving Stolen Goods
In December 1949, James Baldwin was arrested and jailed in Paris for receiving stolen goods after an American friend brought him bedsheets taken from a hotel. The charges were dismissed, leading Baldwin to reflect on his identity as an American rather than a "despised black man" in his essay "Equal in Paris".
1949: Baldwin meets Lucien Happersberger
In 1949, James Baldwin met and fell in love with Lucien Happersberger, beginning a significant relationship in Baldwin's life.
1950: Publication of "Equal in Paris"
In 1950, Baldwin's essay "Equal in Paris" was published in Commentary. The essay discusses his surprise and bewilderment at how he was no longer a despised black man after he was arrested and jailed for receiving stolen goods, but instead, he was simply an American.
1950: Reading James Joyce in Paris
In 1950, James Baldwin read James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in Paris, drawing parallels between Joyce's flight from Ireland and his own run from Harlem.
1951: First Trip to Loèches-les-Bains
Beginning in the winter of 1951, James Baldwin took several trips to Loèches-les-Bains in Switzerland with Lucien Happersberger. These visits served as inspiration for his essay, "Stranger in the Village."
April 1952: Return to the United States
In April 1952, James Baldwin sailed back to the United States on the SS Île de France, where he had extensive conversations with Themistocles Hoetis and Dizzy Gillespie.
October 1953: Publication of "Stranger in the Village"
In October 1953, Baldwin's essay "Stranger in the Village" was published in Harper's Magazine. The essay describes mistreatment and offputting experiences at the hands of Swiss villagers and explored the bitter history shared by Black and white Americans and how it changed members of both races.
1953: Beauford Delaney's Arrival in France
In 1953, Beauford Delaney's arrival in France marked "the most important personal event in Baldwin's life" that year. Around the same time, Baldwin's circle of friends shifted away from primarily white bohemians toward a coterie of Black American expatriates.
May 1954: Supreme Court Orders School Desegregation
In May 1954, the United States Supreme Court mandated the desegregation of schools "with all deliberate speed," a landmark decision that Baldwin followed from Paris, marking a significant moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
August 1955: Murder of Emmett Till
In August 1955, the racist murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi, and the subsequent acquittal of his killers, deeply affected Baldwin and later influenced his writing, particularly "Blues for Mister Charlie."
October 1955: Return to Paris
In October 1955, James Baldwin returned to Paris.
December 1955: Rosa Parks Arrested
In December 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, an event that galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and was followed by Baldwin from Paris.
February 1956: Autherine Lucy Admitted and Expelled from University of Alabama
In February 1956, Autherine Lucy was admitted to the University of Alabama but was later expelled after white riots. Baldwin, witnessing these events from Paris, felt increasingly burdened by a sense of wasting time abroad.
March 1956: Faulkner's Comment on Desegregation
In March 1956, William Faulkner commented that he would side with white Mississippians in a war over desegregation, even if it meant shooting Black people. This inspired Baldwin to write the essay "William Faulkner and Desegregation,"
September 1956: Attendance at Congress of Black Writers and Artists
In September 1956, James Baldwin attended the Congress of Black Writers and Artists, but found the conference disappointing.
July 1957: Baldwin Sets Sail for New York
In July 1957, after a visit with Édith Piaf, Baldwin set sail for New York, leaving Beauford Delaney upset due to his deteriorating mental state. Baldwin decided to return to the United States sooner than initially planned.
1957: Decision to Return to the United States
In 1957, James Baldwin decided to return to the United States.
1960: FBI starts compiling Baldwin's file.
In 1960, the FBI began collecting information for James Baldwin's file, which eventually contained 1,884 pages, reflecting the surveillance of American writers during that era.
1961: Completion of Another Country in Istanbul
On December 10, 1961, Baldwin completed "Another Country" during his first stay in Istanbul. This marked the beginning of many stays in Istanbul throughout the 1960s.
August 28, 1963: Baldwin at March on Washington
On August 28, 1963, James Baldwin made a prominent appearance at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, accompanied by Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, and Marlon Brando.
1963: CORE Lecture Tour
In 1963, Baldwin conducted a lecture tour of the South for CORE, lecturing on his racial ideology, an ideological position between the "muscular approach" of Malcolm X and the nonviolent program of Martin Luther King Jr.
1963: Baldwin blames violence on political figures.
In 1963, during the Birmingham riot, James Baldwin blamed the violence on the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, Mississippi Senator James Eastland, and President Kennedy for their failure to use the prestige of the office as a moral forum.
1964: Baldwin Discusses Civil Rights Revolution
In a 1964 interview with Robert Penn Warren, James Baldwin discussed the civil rights movement, calling it "a very peculiar revolution" aimed at radical shifts in American mores and the way of life.
March 1965: Baldwin Joins Selma to Montgomery Marches
In March 1965, James Baldwin joined marchers in the Selma to Montgomery Marches, walking 50 miles to the capitol in Montgomery under federal troop protection, advocating for civil rights.
1965: Debate with William F. Buckley
In 1965, Baldwin debated William F. Buckley at the Cambridge Union on whether the American dream had been achieved at the expense of African Americans, with the student body voting overwhelmingly in Baldwin's favor.
November 1970: "Open Letter to My Sister, Angela Y. Davis"
In November 1970, Baldwin wrote his famous "Open Letter to My Sister, Angela Y. Davis" from his home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
1970: Baldwin Settled in Saint-Paul-de-Vence
In 1970, Baldwin settled in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in the south of France, using it as a base for international travel and opening his home to friends like Beauford Delaney, Harry Belafonte, and Sidney Poitier.
1972: Publication of No Name in the Street
In 1972, Baldwin published "No Name in the Street," an essay discussing his experiences in the context of the late 1960s, particularly the assassinations of his friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.
1979: Baldwin Speaks at UC Berkeley
In 1979, James Baldwin spoke at UC Berkeley and referred to the civil rights movement as "the latest slave rebellion".
1981: Atlanta Murders
The Atlanta murders, a series of killings between 1979 and 1981, inspired Baldwin's book "The Evidence of Things Not Seen", published in 1985.
1985: Baldwin visits C. L. R. James Library
In 1985, James Baldwin visited the C. L. R. James Library in the London Borough of Hackney.
1990: Lawsuit Against Baldwin's Estate Dropped
In 1990, McGraw-Hill dropped its lawsuit against Baldwin's estate to recover the $200,000 advance for his unfinished book, "Remember This House."
1992: James Baldwin Scholars Program Established
In 1992, Hampshire College established the James Baldwin Scholars program, an urban outreach initiative, in honor of Baldwin.
February 2016: Le Monde Opinion Piece
In February 2016, Le Monde published an opinion piece by Thomas Chatterton Williams, spurring a group of activists to come together in Paris to try to save Baldwin's house.
June 2016: Shannon Cain Squats at Baldwin's House
In June 2016, American writer and activist Shannon Cain squatted at Baldwin's house for 10 days as an act of political and artistic protest.
2019: Construction Completed on Apartment Complex
In 2019, construction was completed on the apartment complex that now stands where Chez Baldwin once stood, after attempts to conserve the property were dismissed.
