The legacy of activist and writer James Baldwin isn’t one that can be represented by any singular community. Born August 2, 1924, Baldwin was a prominent figure in the U.S. civil rights movement and wrote of experiences as a queer, Black man in the United States and abroad in works like Go Tell It on the Mountain, The Fire Next Time, and Giovanni’s Room.
This month, bookstores, cultural groups, activists, and others are remembering James Baldwin across Connecticut and the country. WSHU spoke with Michelle Black Smith, the cultural historian of Bridgeport’s Kindred Thoughts Bookstore, about Baldwin’s legacy.
WSHU: Michelle, Kindred Thoughts is in Bridgeport. It’s a Black-owned bookstore that focuses on African-American literature and culture. Your bookstore and so many other groups are celebrating James Baldwin's centennial this year. What makes those communities hold Baldwin so close to their hearts?
MBS: Sure. James Baldwin means so much to, I think, the African-American community as a whole. Particularly because he was such a champion of the African-American community. He was someone who always stood up for Black folks. He would go to the mat. He was in Europe and decided to come back to the United States, particularly because of what was going on with the civil rights movement. So he really took stock of what was happening, and not just talked or wrote about the civil rights movement, but was an active participant. For that reason alone, Baldwin is beloved by many in the Black community — because he really put himself out there, to be a part of the forefront of the fight for civil rights.
WSHU: And for you — as a cultural historian and personally — what does James Baldwin and his work mean to you?
MBS: Oh, wow, where to begin? You know, as a cultural historian, he means so much to me in terms of the body of his work and its beauty. But also with Baldwin—and I say this professionally and personally—I feel seen. And I feel heard. And he has had the amazing ability to write about and to people in such a way that it is very, very personal.
WSHU: Any lessons you’ve learned from his work that you’d like to share?
MBS: Oh, one of the things is to be fearless. You know, I think that especially when you think of a man who was born in 1924, spent time traveling between New York and Europe, and dealt with the kind of cultural aspects and attitudes that we might take for granted today. But you know his queerness—and I use queerness on purpose because that was the term that he preferred—but his ability to live his life fully.
WSHU: On that note, Baldwin and his work hold significance to communities defined outside of race as well. Can you speak to the impact he’s had on the queer community and the navigation of his own identity?
MBS: The intersectionality of James Baldwin is, first and foremost, one of color or community, and one of gender orientation. And James Baldwin lived his life as a Black, queer man who was an activist, a social engager, a community spokesperson, an author, writer and essayist. A poet, a playwright. And a brother, and an uncle. He was all those things. But intersectionality becomes important because Baldwin lived his life in such a way as to not deny who he was without ever proclaiming who he was. He just allowed himself to be.
