New York Public Library Celebrates 100th Birthday Of James Baldwin Across The Library System

To celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of writer, activist, public intellectual, and beloved library patron James Baldwin.

The New York Public Library will present to the public for the first time ever some of the most important and extraordinary items from the Library’s collection of Baldwin’s papers. In addition, as part of a wider celebration of Baldwin’s legacy including free programs for all ages, 30 of the Library’s branches across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island will participate in one of the largest adult book giveaways in NYPL history. The initiative, “Celebrating 100 Years of James Baldwin at NYPL,” will honor James Baldwin’s love for libraries and his legacy as one of the most read and respected writers of our time. 

The story of James Baldwin’s education and path as a literary truth-teller is deeply intertwined with the history of The New York Public Library. Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924 across the street from what would later become the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and visited the library 3-4 times a week in his youth when it was one of the first integrated libraries at NYPL. Baldwin first arrived at the flagship 42nd Street Library, now known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, as a teenager. The library left such an impression on him that he became a regular patron, and the building makes an appearance in the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain. Today the Schomburg Center stewards James Baldwin’s collection of personal papers, ephemera, manuscripts, and materials. 

Patrons can see the first major exhibitions of NYPL’s James Baldwin papers at the two libraries that inspired him. Highlights include manuscripts of his most famous and influential works, including the drafts of Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovanni’s Room, and The Fire Next Time; James Baldwin’s high school literary magazine from DeWitt Clinton High School; and letters with friends, including Maya Angelou and Lorraine Hansberry.

Exhibitions honoring James Baldwin:

James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire at the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)

• June 13, 2024, through Fall 2025
• Exhibited within the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures, James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire includes never-before-exhibited literary manuscripts—including draft pages from his early works Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovanni’s Room, and The Fire Next Time—alongside other remarkable items from the Baldwin papers. 

New exhibition: JIMMY! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth (Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture)

• August 2, 2024, through February 2025
• JIMMY! will feature the Schomburg Center’s collection of Baldwin’s archive of personal papers along with materials from other research collections to highlight his literary career and legacy from childhood to death. This exhibition will illuminate the passion, brilliance, and courageous spirit of James “Jimmy” Baldwin. The Schomburg Center will hold an opening reception on Friday, August 2 from 12–3 PM. 

“The James Baldwin papers open a window into Baldwin’s vibrant, masterful literary persona. As a child, Baldwin visited the 135th Street Branch Library, predecessor to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, at least 3 or 4 times a week. Today, we are honored to be home to his papers and legacy. By celebrating Baldwin in his centenary, we invite readers to engage with Baldwin, his rich inner life, and the way he used the written word to tell the truth about the world around him,” said Barrye Brown, Schomburg Center Curator of Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books and curator of Jimmy! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth.

More than 30 library branches will give away 4,000 select Baldwin titles to patrons, as well as offer a robust lineup of arts and writing workshops throughout the summer and fall. Patrons can follow in Baldwin’s footsteps with two branch-led neighborhood walking tour programs in Harlem and Greenwich Village and a self-guided tour map from the Schomburg Center to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, including stops along the way (available both in print at branches and online via the Bloomberg Connects app).

“James Baldwin was born with gifts, but there’s no question that The New York Public Library and other public city resources played a critical, nurturing role in the early intellectual development of this artist who opened the minds and hearts of so many people around the world. That’s something that all New Yorkers can celebrate,” said Charles Cuykendall Carter, Assistant Curator of the Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle and Curator of James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire.

Celebrating 100 Years of James Baldwin at NYPL will continue into the fall, with more to be announced at nypl.org/baldwin100. On October 4–5, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture will hold a two-day symposium, How to Start a Fire, in collaboration with Columbia’s Institute for Research in African American Studies. The forum will engage in critical discussions about Baldwin’s work and consider his impact on today’s fights for social justice.

The James Baldwin Papers were acquired through the generosity of the Ford Foundation, Katharine J. Rayner, James and Morag Anderson, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and New York Life. Support for processing has been provided by the Arcus Foundation.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Founded in 1925 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2017, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the preservation, research, interpretation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diasporan, and African experiences. As a research division of The New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center features diverse programming and collections totaling over 11 million items that illuminate the richness of global black history, arts, and culture. Learn more at schomburgcenter.org.

The New York Public Library

For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming, and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.