by Programming Librarian Zach
My introduction to James Baldwin came about 20 years too late while taking a Rhetoric of Social Movements course in college and it was both revelatory and infuriating. Where has this voice of reason, truth, anger, outrage, hope, and passion been all my life? Baldwin’s writing was both intimate and expansive, challenging us to see how systemic injustices affect communities and the self and guiding us to a better, more humane society.
Baldwin forced a nation to confront the rot and corruption, on both a personal and societal level, of white supremacy in The Fire Next Time, openly explored his sexuality in his 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room and brought the devastation of an unjust carceral system home in If Beale Street Could Talk. James Baldwin was a pinnacle of authenticity, speaking truth to power through his writing, speeches, and activism at the risk of his well-being, in the hope that we could, in Baldwin’s own words, “do something unprecedented: to create ourselves without finding it necessary to create an enemy.”
James Baldwin would have turned 100 on August 2, 2024, and we’re celebrating his life, writing, and lasting legacy at the Bexley Public Library with a series of programs:
Dr. Cynthia Young, Chair of the Dept. of African American and African Studies at OSU, will facilitate a conversation after a screening of the documentary I Am Not Your Negro on Saturday, August 3 at 3 PM.
I Am Not Your Negro Screening & Discussion with Cynthia Young
The 10 Decades Book Club will discuss Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk on Sunday, August 11 at 2 PM.
If Beale Street Could Talk Book Discussion
Finally, we’re excited to have authors Prince Shakur (When They Tell You To Be Good) and Quartez Harris (We Made It to School Alive), both of whom have been profoundly influenced by James Baldwin’s life and writing, in conversation celebrating James Baldwin at 100 on Thursday, August 29 at 7 PM.
Prince Shakur & Quartez Harris Celebrating James Baldwin at 100
We hope you’ll join us to learn more about and celebrate the life and legacy of James Baldwin at the Bexley Public Library this August.
