I Am Not Your Negro

Born in Harlem, New York in 1924, James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, and poet. He is known for his work addressing race, class, and sexuality, and for writing that features multiple gay protagonists.

Baldwin’s mother left his biological father before Baldwin was born, but in his texts, Baldwin refers to his abusive stepfather as his father. He was the second eldest of ten step-siblings. Growing up, he became a primary caretaker for his younger siblings.

Growing up, Baldwin was a voracious reader and soon started writing. The supportive teacher he mentions in Part 2 appeared in his life when he was ten, but she did not outweigh the racist abuse Baldwin received at school.

In 1948, at age 24, Baldwin, weary of American racism, segregation, and having his writing reduced to a niche interest, moved to Paris. There, he met Lucien Happersberger, a Swiss painter who became Baldwin’s lover and lifelong partner (excepting Happersberger’s short-lived marriage to actress Diana Sands). In Paris, Baldwin found himself free of the danger and fear that had dogged him in America. He continued to travel in his adulthood.

Throughout his life, Baldwin befriended many artists, entertainers, and activists—including Miles Davis, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Martin Luther King, Jr.