Author: James Baldwin

Early Life
Writer and playwright James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York. One of the
20th century's greatest writers, Baldwin broke new literary ground with the exploration of racial and
social issues in his many works. He was especially known for his essays on the Black experience in
America.

Baldwin was born to a young single mother, Emma Jones, at Harlem Hospital. She reportedly never told
him the name of his biological father. Jones married a Baptist minister named David Baldwin when James
was about three years old. Despite their strained relationship, Baldwin followed in his stepfather's
footsteps — who he always referred to as his father — during his early teen years. He served as a youth
minister in a Harlem Pentecostal church from the ages of 14 to 16.

Baldwin developed a passion for reading at an early age and demonstrated a gift for writing during his
school years. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he worked on the school's
magazine with future famous photographer Richard Avedon.

Baldwin published numerous poems, short stories and plays in the magazine, and his early work showed
an understanding for sophisticated literary devices in a writer of such a young age.

After graduating from high school in 1942, he had to put his plans for college on hold to help support his
family, which included seven younger children. He took whatever work he could find, including laying
railroad tracks for the U.S. Army in New Jersey.

During this time, Baldwin frequently encountered discrimination, being turned away from restaurants,
bars and other establishments because he was African American. After being fired from the New Jersey
job, Baldwin sought other work and struggled to make ends meet.

Aspiring Writer
On July 29, 1943, Baldwin lost his father — and gained his eighth sibling the same day. He soon moved
to Greenwich Village, a New York City neighborhood popular with artists and writers.

Devoting himself to writing a novel, Baldwin took odd jobs to support himself. He befriended writer
Richard Wright, and through Wright, he was able to land a fellowship in 1945 to cover his expenses.
Baldwin started getting essays and short stories published in such national periodicals as The Nation,
Partisan Review and Commentary.

Three years later, Baldwin made a dramatic change in his life and moved to Paris on another fellowship.
The shift in location freed Baldwin to write more about his personal and racial background.
"Once I found myself on the other side of the ocean, I see where I came from very clearly...I am the
grandson of a slave, and I am a writer. I must deal with both," Baldwin once told The New York Times.
The move marked the beginning of his life as a "transatlantic commuter," dividing his time between
France and the United States.

James Baldwin - Biography -Life Story

Author and the Background in Relation to the Play

In response to the United States' betrayal of the civil rights movement, there have been riots in cities
across the country, proclamations of Black Power, and ongoing debates about what the slogan means.
During a time when the "silent" majority claimed that they were the true victims, white politicians stoked
white resentment, rioted in hard hats against anti–Vietnam War protesters, violently resisted forced
bussing, and eventually elected Ronald Reagan, a man who was as well-known among Black activists as
the Alabama Governor George Wallace In the aftermath of King's killing, Ronald Reagan's victory
represented an eloquent affirmation of the value gap–the idea that white lives are more valuable than
those of other races. In that moment of reckoning, the country came to a choice that would determine the
fate of Black America for two more generations.
James Baldwin, a well-known American writer and critic, was present to witness everything. In 1957, he
made his first trip to the South, where he experienced the movement's early promise. Seeing his country's
commitment to tough measures betrayed, he felt betrayed himself and clenched his teeth in frustration. A
sad witness desperate to tell the story of how the country had arrived at this point, Baldwin was
devastated by the happening around him. In addition to being a novelist, playwright, essayist, and social
activist, James Baldwin has written several forceful critiques of racial, sexual, and class bias in American
culture that have garnered widespread attention. He has six novels to his credit, as well as various
collections of essays, short tales, and poems, all of which have been published. The play Blues for Mister
Charlie was written by James Baldwin, who was an outspoken opponent of racism in the United States. It
was first written in 1964, and it was afterward performed in the same year. It is based on the true story of
Emmett Till's murder in Mississippi, in the United States of America, which was shown in the film.

Extra-Textual
Kenneth Beider, an artistic director of Chicago’s Inn Town Theater Company (1993?): “It’s amazing, how
this play parallels what’s going on in L.A. right now. At the time he wrote ‘Mr. Charlie,’ Baldwin was
really torn between whether he wanted to follow Malcolm X or Martin Luther King. He was leaning at the
time toward Malcolm X. The main criticism of the play was that it was too polarized. It ended up
alienating the audiences, at least the white audience, because they felt they were being preached to.”

Years later, Beider says the play is not about racism. “It’s about tribalism. Tribalism is even stronger than
racism. Those are very hard bonds to break. Baldwin put it well when he said, ‘What man has overcome
his past?’ That kind of says it all. We’re so much into the differences between us rather than the common
bond we share, it’s incredible.”
Tribalism: Tribalism is a loyalty or preference to one's own people. As well as culture, it can apply to
politics and sport. Cultural tribalism refers to the subdivision of society in groups who come together by a
shared or specific type of thinking or behavior.

Sources:
1. James Baldwin: Biographic, Essayist, Playwright, Works
2. Racial Unrest Brings Baldwin's 'Mr. Charlie' Back Into Focus - Los Angeles Times