JIMMY! God's Black Revolutionary Mouth

Novelist, essayist, intellectual, and activist James Baldwin (1924–1987) is renowned as one of the world’s most influential and prophetic voices of our time. His death in 1987 sent waves of grief around the world. Amiri Baraka’s eulogy, titled “Jimmy!”, spoke of James "Jimmy" Baldwin as “not only a writer, international literary figure” but as a “man, spirit, voice”. Baraka called Baldwin “God’s black revolutionary mouth,” which speaks to Baldwin’s enduring legacy of radical truth-telling. 

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is home to Baldwin’s archive of personal papers. In celebration of his 100th birthday, on public display for the first time, we proudly present selections from the James Baldwin Papers that highlight his literary career and legacy from childhood to death, along with items from other research collections that illuminate the passion, brilliance, and courageous spirit of James “Jimmy” Baldwin.

Organized by Barrye Brown, Curator, Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division at the Schomburg Center.

Discover highlights of the exhibition that map Baldwin’s writings from childhood to his death. Scholars Dr. Imani Perry and Dr. Rich Blint, award-winning poet Dante Micheaux, and Grammy Award–winning recording artist Meshell Ndegeocello discuss Baldwin’s early writing in Magpie: A literary-art publication, a letter to his dear friend and playwright Lorraine Hansberry, his novel Another Country, and more. 

Listen to the audio guide online or on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Bloomberg Connects is a third-party mobile app not owned or operated by NYPL. See privacy notice below.

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Exhibition Opening Reception & Program

Friday, August 2 | 12 Noon–3 PM | Schomburg Center

Join us on James Baldwin’s 100th birthday for the opening reception for our newest exhibition JIMMY! God's Black Revolutionary Mouth. Stay for our public program featuring Yahdon Israel, Senior editor at Simon & Schuster and two-time Grammy Award-winning recording hip-hop artist and humanitarian, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, in a conversation about the critical voice of James Baldwin and the use of popular culture to further elevate important figures and ideas. Rhymefest's latest project, James & Nikki: A Conversation, is inspired by and includes clips from the historic 1971 conversation between literary icons. 

Registration is closed, but we welcome you to join us throughout the day to view the exhibition. Reminder, the exhibition opens at 12PM and the public program starts at 1:30PM. We will seat on a first come, first seated until the auditorium is full. Please use the link below for more information and to view our public notice and disclaimers.

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2-Day Convening: How To Build A Fire

SAVE THE DATE: October 4 - 5 | 10AM - 7PM

As we celebrate the centennial birth of James “Jimmy” Baldwin, our Great Bard of Harlem, we are excited to host a two-day convening, How To Build A Fire, October 4-5, 2024, in collaboration with the Institute for Research in African American Studies and Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, Columbia University. We gather not only in response to a world in turmoil (again), but also to invite and engage conversations about being ourselves, doing our work, and lighting our own fires this time/in our own time. Rather than building and burnishing an unusable icon, How To Build A Fire lovingly and critically reflects on the blackprints James Baldwin wrote for his time, toward building and making our own interventions in the present. Baldwin’s fiction, essays, interviews, and activism reminds us of the process of perfecting our craft, and the incalculable value of conversation. 

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Join The New York Public Library to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of writer and activist James Baldwin with special exhibitions, free programs for all ages, book giveaways, and more. Learn more here.

The James Baldwin Papers were acquired through the generosity of the Ford Foundation, Katharine J. Rayner, James and Morag Anderson, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and New York Life. Support for processing has been provided by the Arcus Foundation.

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