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NAME 1
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JAMES BALDWIN
Early Life
James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York (Leeming). His is
considered to be among the greatest authors for his silver-tongued ability to describe how being
black in America was. His works covered a range of issues specifically racial and emerging
social practices. Baldwin’s parents were Emma Jones the mother and David Baldwin the
stepfather who was a preacher. Just like his father, Baldwin at the age of 14 became a youth
preacher in Harlem Pentecostal church.
At very early age, Baldwin had a gift for writing and aspired to becoming an
accomplished professional writer. In the Bronx, his love for reading and writing inculcated at
DeWitt Clinton High School where he attended school had a major influence in his future works.
At school, he had the privilege of publishing poems plays and short stories for the school
magazine (Campbell).
In 1942, Baldwin graduated from high school however driven by poverty his dreams of
attending higher education level was put on hold. Unlike numerous youths who would have idled
away hours at home listening to the latest music hits due to the circumstance, he opted to help his
family find a way out of poverty. With his undying spirit, he took what the harsh world presented
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for him to add a coin to his pocket. In New Jersey, he laid railway tracks for the U.S. Army and
from time to time ethnic prejudice foreclosed opportunities for him in potential work places.
Baldwin was hit by harsh realities of life even by being fired from New Jersey and later barely
making a living at the least.
Aspiring Writer
James Baldwin was not the luck kind of person. On July 29, 1943, he lost his father. The
same day another member of the family was born, his eighth sibling. One would think this was a
blessing in disguise but was it with their family finding it hard to make ends meet. This propelled
him to move to New York City vicinity called Greenwich Village. Reasoning for this genesis
