American writer and civil rights icon James Baldwin is one of US’s most celebrated literary voices, known for work that confronted racial and societal issues.
His work, from novels and essays, to plays and poems, addressed the Black experience in America, as well as themes of sexuality and masculinity, and he was was an prominent voice in the fight for Civil Rights.
Many years on from his death, Baldwin’s writing continues to be read widely, and he is regarded as one of the most important writers of the 20th century.
He has now become the latest figure to be celebrated as a “Doodle” on Google’s homepage, an honour reserved for important historical figures and anniveraries.
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Who is James Baldwin?
Baldwin was born in New York on August 2, 1924, and was a writer, playwright, and a strident voice in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
He was one of the first Black writers to features queer themes in his work. The most notable example was perhaps his 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room, which provoked uproar among critics.
Baldwin grew up in Harlem, where he became passionate about writing while at high school.
His first book Go Tell It on the Mountain, a semi-autobiographical novel, was published in 1953 after 12 years of work.
Around this time, Baldwin published his writing in periodicals, including The Harlem Ghetto, a commentary about the socioeconomic conditions of the New York neighbourhood where he grew up.
A number of his writings were brought to TV and the big screen, like his novel If Beale Street Could Talk, which was a hit with critics.
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Baldwin moved to France in 1948, where he wrote his lauded collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son.
He returned to the United States in 1957 and put his influence behind the Civil Rights Movement, becoming friends with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
He became deeply involved in the movement, with his novels from this time, including The Fire Next Time, (1963), and Blues for Mister Charlie (1964), centring on race issues and the oppression faced by African Americans.
What was James Baldwin’s cause of death?
Baldwin died aged 63 on December 1, 1987, at his home in St Paul de Vence, France.
His death came after a brief battle with stomach cancer.
He was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, near his home town New York City.
Why is James Baldwin on the Google Doodle?
An illustration of Baldwin was added to the site’s homepage recognition of the 26th anniversary of the posthumous publication of his Collected Essays in 1998.
It also comes on the first day of Black History Month, a commemoration started to reflect on the past, acknowledge the on-going struggle for racial justice and recognise the achievements of African Americans.
The illustration, by artist John Key, depicts Baldwin in a purple shirt writing at a desk against a purple and black background.
In a statement on Google’s website, Key said: “With the work I create, I am trying to manifest environments and community structures imbued with truth, pride and love — tenets that I think are exemplified by Baldwin’s texts and life.”
Baldwin’s niece, Darlene Burnett, said she was “grateful” for the recognition shown to her “in celebration of Black History Month and the centennial anniversary of his life”.
She added: “Decades after his death, it is clear that Jimmy’s extensive body of work holds its impact of eternally breathing into spaces that will be stirred by the gravity of his intellect and acquaint the power of his words for generations to come.”
