On August second, in the year of 1924, in the bustling metropolis of New York City a young woman by the name of Emma Berdis Jones gave birth to a boy. She didn’t know it at the time, but he would go on to become a force of nature within the American civil rights movements that would unfold less than 3 decades later.
That boy was James Arthur Baldwin, and throughout his adult life he would continually lead a two-front fight for the rights of African Americans and the LGBTQ+ community. He would masterfully wield his pen, his voice, and his razor-sharp mind to weave tales of love, suffering, and oppression. Many of his fictional works centered around gay and bisexual African-Americans, and through those lenses, he would pose fundamental personal questions to his readers on sexuality, race, masculinity, and class.
His list of essays written, which spans 3 decades, is impressively lengthy and covers a multitude of topics. They touch on everything from scathing critiques of the many racial problems and segregation that plagued America, to deep, psychological dives into what it means to be a “man”. The topics would even showcase his experiences that unfolded during his travels through France, Switzerland, and Spain. In one of his essays, he even recalls the time he was (wrongfully) sent to court for theft in Paris, and how the French tried him as, “not an African-American, but merely an American.” The courts held him in equal regard as his supposed co-thief – a white American friend.
He spent nearly a decade in Europe, however, as the Civil Rights Movement was gaining steam, he felt a deep yearning, a resounding need, to return to his home – to America – to be with, and support the movement. Shortly after returning, he found himself deeply embedded in various organizations within the Civil Rights Movement, and became close friends with both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. His actions, words, and close ties to immensely influential people netted him an impressive 1900-page file at the FBI. This was a feat, in and of itself – as this places James Baldwin as having one of the longest FBI files. For a point of reference, during this era of surveillance of American writers, the FBI had a (not-unimpressive) 276 page file on Richard Wright, 110 pages on Truman Capote, and a mere 9 pages on Henry Miller.
The march on Washington was an immensely pivotal moment in American history – and in Mr. Baldwin’s life. While he was never truly “open” about his orientation or interests, it was here, during the march, where he allowed himself to be more free with who he truly was. After the realization of his homosexuality, he was quietly uninvited from the final speech at the end of the march. Many members of various Civil Rights movements began to uninclude him in many of their meetings and communications, until a short while later, he was nearly ostracized from them. During this time, many of these groups were outright hostile to gay men, and even one of his friends, Martin Luther King, Jr. distanced himself from Mr. Baldwin.
It is in this man, the yearning to become more, better – to dive deeper into ourselves, and find ways we can truly improve our community, that many Pagans and Heathens can find a kinship. To be demonized based on belief of a shared, better society – one where we can all celebrate our differences, and share in the wealth of the world. To be demonized for being a man who thought and acted differently, who felt things deeply, but differently, who saw things differently.
Despite all of that, we can all find our inner strength and peace, whether through our gods, or our practices, or sheer strength of will. We look at obstacles not as roadblocks, but as opportunities to grow and change our lives and our world.
While you’re at it, feel free to check out how AtN supports and promotes the BIPOC community and the LGBTQ+ community!
-Post by Kessington – Chair of Racial Diversity, with edits by Ray – Chancellor of Racial Diversity.
- Image curtesy of Allen Warren, via wikipedia. ↩︎
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