Born on August 2
James Baldwin's Birthday
Born to tell the truth.
Next: August 2, 2027
Where it comes from
James Baldwin was born in Harlem, New York, on 2 August 1924, and this Story marks his birthday. The eldest of nine children, he helped his mother raise his brothers and sisters, and as a teenager he preached in a small revivalist church.
How it's celebrated
There is no formal observance, so the best way to mark the day is to read him. Try one of the essays in Notes of a Native Son (1955), or Go Tell It on the Mountain, the short novel about a 14-year-old boy in a Harlem storefront church. Reading a page aloud is a good way in: he was a preacher before he was a writer.
Did you know
Besides novels, essays and plays, he published a book of poems, Jimmy's Blues, in 1985.
Read the full story of James Baldwin's Birthday
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Warm, generous and made for the spotlight.