{"id":10201,"date":"2025-02-26T01:21:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T01:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=10201"},"modified":"2025-02-23T19:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T19:22:13","slug":"baldwin-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/baldwin-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"James Baldwin and his Lasting Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I must admit that I didn\u2019t know much about James Baldwin or his work before entering the James\u00a0Baldwin\u00a0Centennial: Native Son, Global Voice<\/em> exhibit at Alexander Library. I\u2019d heard of his name and a few works like Go Tell It on the Mountain <\/em>and If Beale Street Could Talk. <\/em>It\u2019s probably astounding to a lot of Baldwin fans that I didn\u2019t know him that well. However, as part of my own way to celebrate Black History Month this year, I thought it would be a great idea to educate myself on Baldwin\u2019s incredible contributions to art, race, sexuality, identity, and social justice.<\/p>\n

\"Small<\/a><\/p>\n

To celebrate Baldwin\u2019s 100th<\/sup> birthday, students from Rutgers University professor Maurice Wallace\u2019s African American Literature course, English 370: Black Narrative, curated a powerful exhibit. As soon as I walked in, I heard Baldwin\u2019s voice on audio from one of his speeches, already immersing me back into twentieth century America. The exhibit starts with Black, Queer and Broke, <\/em>signifying the fact that Baldwin was born and raised in Harlem, New York, where racism in America was at its all-time high.<\/p>\n

From there, the exhibit transforms to an international flare, from \u201cChez Baldwin,\u201d his home in St. Paul de Vence, France from 1971-1987, to \u201cBazaar of Baldwin\u201d in Turkey. This section explores how Baldwin was able to face his issues and explore his creative mindset. Hung on the white walls were black framed quotes from some of his most profound works, including Giovanni\u2019s Room <\/em>and Notes of a Native Son. <\/em>The right side of the exhibit showcases a huge, colorful quilt titled \u201cRed, White and Baldwin\u201d, made by Kenya Baleech Alkebu and assembled and hand quilted by Maureen Kelleher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess, you might be asking, \u201cWhy this subject?\u201d Alkebu stated in an audio transcript from the Zimmerli Arts Museum<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cWell, the way I see it, James Baldwin is a champion of free speech. And his international prominence muffled the drumbeat of those who thought ex-slaves inferior, giving me, a neo-slave, reason and cause to live out loud, to come out from the shadows. It\u2019s an honor to celebrate the legacy of James Baldwin. The colors here represent the witness or witnesses to diversity in crisis. James Baldwin, of course, taught of the subject of color. And it\u2019s one that has occupied the thought and effort of alchemists, scientists, writers, philosophers, and psychologists, not to mention art enthusiasts, for centuries. It\u2019s by no means that straight forward. The colors chosen is central to all we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Kelleher co-founded the Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project<\/strong><\/a> with Alkebu, who is incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary. It was amazing to see how two people who come from different walks of life could collaborate on a project to celebrate Baldwin\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

Other features of the exhibit include Baldwin\u2019s handwritten journals and nonfiction works written during his time in Harlem, New York in the 1970s such as Just Above My Head, No Name in the Street <\/em>and Tell Me How Long the Train\u2019s Been Gone. <\/em>More features of the exhibit are publications about Baldwin, like the Manchester University Press edited by Dwight McBride. The James Baldwin Review, Volume 9, was published by the Manchester University Press in September 2023. The exhibit\u2019s plaque reads The James Baldwin Review is an \u201cannual collection of peer-reviewed work on the life and legacy of James Baldwin, both creative and critical. Its aim is to not only build upon Baldwin scholarship but also to inspire future literary scholars to study this influential author.\u201d On the exhibit\u2019s plaque is also James Baldwin Now<\/em>, a \u201cbook of research and writing by several leading scholars on James Baldwin\u2019s life and art.\u201d There are also some old photos and archives of Baldwin with famous friends. These photos and archives expressed how beloved Baldwin was in his lifetime.<\/p>\n

The end of the exhibit features a journal for visitors to share their thoughts, questions, reflection for Baldwin, the world or themselves. The plaque near the journal states, \u201cBaldwin wanted us to become in touch with our internal selves, to be lettered in \u2018the language of the heart.\u2019\u201d The journal is filled with messages from Rutgers students, teachers and librarians. There is no doubt that Baldwin is somewhere smiling above at all this work Maurice Wallace and his students created in his honor.<\/p>\n

\"Handwritten<\/a><\/p>\n

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How to find Baldwin\u2019s books<\/h4>\n

Multiple copies and editions of Baldwin\u2019s books are available from Rutgers University Libraries.<\/p>\n