Biography

James Arthur Baldwin (1924 – 1987) was born in Harlem, New York on August 2, 1924 to Emma Berdis Jones, originally from Deal Island, Maryland. He was reared by his mother and stepfather David Baldwin, a Baptist preacher, originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, whom Baldwin referred to as his father and whom he described as extremely strict. He did not know his biological father. As the eldest of nine children, Baldwin took seriously the responsibility of being a big brother and his mother’s right hand. He cared for and protected his three younger brothers and five sisters in a household governed by the rigid rules of their father.

Between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, Baldwin became a preacher at the Fireside Pentecostal Assembly, where he developed a celebrated preaching style. His brief experience in the church would have a sustained impact on his rhetorical style and on the themes, symbols, and biblical allusions in his writings. Baldwin’s Pentecostal experience is, in fact, essential to understanding his complex views on Christianity, which he espoused in his speeches and publications. His experience in the pulpit also served to inflect his overall stance on religion, and his ultimate rejection of it in the name of humanistic love. In The Fire Next Time, Baldwin proclaims, “If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, it is time we got rid of Him.” (Full Bio)

Plays

the amen corner (1954)

After giving a fiery Sunday morning sermon, Harlem pastor Margaret Alexander is confronted by the unexpected arrival of her long-estranged husband Luke, who collapses from illness shortly thereafter. Luke tells their son David and several elders of the congregation that he had not abandoned his family years ago; it was in fact Margaret who had left Luke to pursue a religious life. Margaret, Luke, David and the congregation clash over the perceived hypocritical nature of Margaret's religious convictions and the breakup of her family.

After an important conversation with his dying father, David tells Margaret he is leaving home to pursue his calling as a jazz musician. On his deathbed, Luke tells Margaret he has always loved her, and she should not have left him. Margaret’s congregation decides to oust her, believing she unjustly ruined her own family in the name of religion. After losing her son, her husband, and her congregation, Margaret realizes she should not have used religion as an excuse to escape life's struggles, declaring, ‘‘To love the Lord is to love all His children—all of them, every one!—and suffer with them and rejoice with them and never count the cost!’’ (Source)

Cast Requirements: 10+

Characters: Sister Sally, Sister Jackson, First Woman, David, Second Woman, Odessa, Sister Douglas, Brother Boxer, Sister Boxer, Sister Margaret, Sister Rice, Sister Moore, Luke, Man

Publication: The Amen Corner: a play. Dial Press, 1968. (Link)

BLUES FOR MISTER CHARLIE (1964)

A sensation in its New York premiere produced by the Actor's Studio, this searing drama by one of America's leading writers retains all its power to this day. Richard, a black man who is a former junkie, returns to his parochial southern town and infuriates the denizens with his incendiary talk and actions. When he is killed by a poor, illiterate white man, the murder, the eulogy, the trial and acquittal are presented in an abstract dramatic form of time, fury, and passion. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 10+

Characters: Disc Jockey/Drummer, Lyle Britten, Richard Henry, Rev. Meridian Henry, Tom, Arthur, Ken/Counsel for the Bereaved, Mother Henry, Juanita, Pete, Lorenzo, Parnell, Jo Britten, Papa D, Hazel, Susan, Ralph/Judge, Ellis, Lillian, Rev. Phelps, and more.

Publication Info: Blues for Mister Charlie. Vintage International, 1995. (Link)