[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1324-E1325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CELEBRATING JAMES BALDWIN

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 1, 2014

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is with great admiration that today I 
rise to join all of the people in the village of Harlem and my 
Congressional District to celebrate the works of Mr. James Baldwin on 
his 90th birthday this upcoming August 2, 2014. James Baldwin was a 
legendary writer who broke new literary ground by exploring racial and 
social issues in his works.
  Mr. Baldwin was born to Emma Jones, a single mother, on August 2, 
1924 in Harlem, New York. While he never met his biological father, Mr. 
Baldwin did have a father figure growing up: Baptist Minister David 
Baldwin. The preacher's religious influence had a lasting impression on 
James and his writings. He would go on to spend three years as a youth 
minister. The language of the church shaped the cadences and tones of 
his work, becoming unmistakable hallmarks of his literary style.
  After striking out on his own and moving away from home, Mr. Baldwin 
published short stories in national periodicals under the tutelage of 
his mentor, Beauford Delaney, a renowned Harlem Renaissance painter. 
Growing disillusion with chauvinism against African-Americans and the 
gay community, Baldwin left our country and settled in France at the 
age of 24. He found that the distance gave him enough space to reflect 
on his experience as a black man in white America. Please allow

[[Page E1325]]

me to quote Mr. Baldwin's later thoughts on this dramatic change in his 
life: ``Once I found myself on the other side of the ocean, I saw where 
I came from very clearly . . . I am the grandson of a slave, and I am 
writer. I must deal with both.'' Through his writing, Baldwin did deal 
with this reality.
  In 1953, Baldwin published his first novel, a semi-autobiography 
called Go Tell It on the Mountain, which explores the repression, moral 
hypocrisy, religious inspiration, and community ties that characterize 
the Black American experience. While he spent much of his life abroad, 
Baldwin always remained a quintessentially American writer. In the 
early 1960s, he returned home and became a leading voice and activist 
in the Civil Rights Movement. The works that Baldwin published during 
this tumultuous time in American history, explored the deep-rooted 
racial tension with eloquence and unparalleled honesty. His two 
collections of essays, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My 
Name (1961), as well as two novels, Giovanni's Room (1956) and Another 
Country (1962), were immediate bestsellers. James Baldwin created 
beautiful literary works with unprecedented depth and power; his 
writing will remain an essential part of the American literary canon.
  In honor of his birthday, as well as to pay tribute to Mr. Baldwin's 
tireless effort to addressing our nation's issues with race and 
spirituality, the New Heritage Theatre Group, Columbia University 
School of the Arts, National Black Theater, Street Corner Recourse and 
Harlem Renaissance High School recognize August 2nd as James Baldwin 
Day.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me 
as we pay tribute to such a legend. I pledge to continue his fight for 
justice for all and encourage everyone to do the same.

                          ____________________