Centennial James Baldwin Celebration

The Centennial Celebration of Author

James Baldwin

1924 - 1987

James Arthur Baldwin (1924-1987) was born in Harlem, NY on August 2, 1924 to Emma Berdis Jones, originally from Deal Island, MD.  Apart from his being one of the greatest novelist, essayist, dramatist, poet, and civil rights activist in the history of American letters, Baldwin’s connection to Maryland runs from the matrilineal line—his mother was from the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  His 1965 collection of eight short stories Going to Meet the Man, is believed to have been influenced by familial talk of eastern shore lynchings. 

Morgan State University will celebrate Baldwin throughout 2024 with readouts, lectures, community events, the Presidential Distinguished Lecture, collaborations with external units, and much more.

 Generally proposals will explore, among other things;

• James Baldwin's Art
• African/African Diaspora Contributions to Western/American Art
• African American Lived Experiences as the Basis for Theory
• African American Artists and the Humanities

Selected Works by James Baldwin

Works by Baldwin

Go Tell It on the Mountain (1952)

Notes of a Native Son (1955)

Giovanni’s Room (1956)

Sonny’s Blues (1957)

Fifth Avenue, Uptown (1960)

Nobody Knows My Name (1961)

I Am Not Your Negro:  A Companion Edition to the Documentary Film Directed by Raoul Peck 

Another Country (1962)

The Fire Next Time (1963)

Nothing Personal (1964)

Going to Meet the Man (1965)

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone (1968)

No Name in the Street (1972)