A Commanding Voice from the Past Speaks with Brilliant Clarity to the Present | LinkedIn

This French edition of "King, Malcolm, Baldwin: Three Interviews" by Dr. Kenneth B. Clark illustrates just influential Baldwin's writings became during the 1960s and 1970s.

Editorial Note: The full post of this article by Aberjhani on LinkedIn and accessible via the link below incorporates a segment of the previously published essay The Year of James Baldwin Now in Full Classic Literary Swing


Before there were human resource managers and action research teams counseling American corporations on the advantages of embracing diversity rather than vilifying it, there was author James Baldwin putting the theory to the test in acclaimed essays, novels, plays, short stories, poems, and dialogues. Social networkers in recent weeks have found occasion to quote those writings in regard to everything from a Palestinian state and gay marriage equality to Barack Obama’s presidency and the American identity.

It is true that he marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and shared podiums with Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, and other iconic figures of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. It is also true that the author was something of a mentor to both the late Literarian Award-winner Maya Angelou and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Yet these biographical notes cannot fully account for the astonishing resurgence of interest in Baldwin’s legacy as observed in New York City and elsewhere via the ongoing Year of James Baldwin in honor of the 90th anniversary of his birth. 

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A Commanding Voice from the Past Speaks with Brilliant Clarity to the Present | LinkedIn

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