2. Baldwin’s Struggles
- Born in Harlem in 1924 to a
single woman.
- Stepfather was a Preacher.
- Raised in a household of 9,
taught at an early age life
would not be fair.
- Finding his identity as a
gay, African American was
difficult.
- Very spiritual individual-
struggled to find a place in
religion.
3. Religion in Baldwin’s
Life.
- Baldwin’s strong
spirituality was
instilled in him at a
young age, as his
stepfather (whose
name he took) was a
Preacher.
- “At the age of 14, he
discovered a talent
for public speaking
and gained notoriety
as a young minister
in several Harlem
churches.”
4. Religion in Baldwin’s
Life
- Baldwin was later
accepted to a private
High School in the
Bronx where he gained
his first experience
writing for a magazine.
- “He tried to work
through his divided
loyalty between church
and school in the poems,
plays and stories that he
contributed to the
magazine.”
5. Religion in Baldwin’s
Life.
- “His budding awareness
of his homosexuality and
his growing love of the arts
caused Baldwin to leave
his church in 1940.”
6. Religious struggle and
its effect on his work.
- InBaldwin’s first novel,
Go Tell It on the
Mountain, “The
protagonist strongly
resembles the young
Baldwin wrestling with
his paternal and
religious demons…”
7. Tyrkus, Michael J., and Michael Bronski.
"James Baldwin." Gay & Lesbian Biography
(1997). Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 July
2012.
"James Baldwin: About the Author." PBS. PBS,
n.d. Web. 10 July 2012.
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters
/episodes/james-baldwin/about-the-
author/59/>.
