James Baldwin

Writer James Baldwin is remembered by his family, a scholar, a journalist and a playwright on his 100th birthday.

Baldwin is heralded for being everything from an orator, activist and fashion icon. None of that would be true if he weren't a writer first. We asked fans to break down what made his writing work.

Baldwin was arguably the most evocative Black writer of his generation. But if you know him from film, it is for just one movie, If Beale Street Could Talk, released more than 30 years after his death.

James Baldwin died in 1987. Baldwin & Co. is a Black-owned bookstore and community hub in New Orleans. "His literature, his perspective, his insight ... have changed my life," says owner DJ Johnson.