James Baldwin

James Baldwin’s first piece for a national magazine was a review, “Maxim Gorky as Artist,” in The Nation (April 12, 1947). Thereafter, Baldwin published a series of landmark books, including Go Tell It On the Mountain (1953), Notes of a Native Son (1955) and The Fire Next Time (1963). He was a member of the magazine’s editorial board from 1978 until his death in 1987.

Nation HistoryMarch 23, 2015

A Report From Occupied Territory

The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer.

James Baldwin and Carrie Mae Weems
July 23, 2014

Open Letter to the Born Again

Sometimes, our best efforts at peace are betrayed.

James Baldwin
April 12, 2011

The Crusade of Indignation

James Baldwin
Racism and DiscriminationNovember 1, 1980

Notes on the House of Bondage

Baldwin sheds light on the state of America by surveying the dispiriting array of candidates for the 1980 presidential race.

James Baldwin
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EconomyJuly 11, 1966

A Report from Occupied Territory

These things happen, in all our Harlems, every single day. If we ignore this fact, and our common responsibility to change this fact, we are sealing our doom.

James Baldwin
April 12, 1947

Maxim Gorki as Artist

James Baldwin

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James Baldwin

Nation HistoryMarch 23, 2015

The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer.

July 23, 2014

Sometimes, our best efforts at peace are betrayed.

April 12, 2011

Racism and DiscriminationNovember 1, 1980

Baldwin sheds light on the state of America by surveying the dispiriting array of candidates for the 1980 presidential race.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

EconomyJuly 11, 1966

These things happen, in all our Harlems, every single day. If we ignore this fact, and our common responsibility to change this fact, we are sealing our doom.

April 12, 1947