James Baldwin was born in Harlem on August 2, 1924.He was named James Arthur Jones at birth. Baldwin never knew his real father, his mother married David Baldwin, a Baptist preacher from New Orleans and together they would have six children.

Baldwin started some writng in junior high school. In 1938 he had a religious experience and for three years he preached at the Fireside Pentecostal Assembly. After high school he worked at a number of jobs. It was in Greenwich Village that he met Richard Wright who helped him with his writing career

From the mid-forties unitl the time of his death he was a writer. In 1953 he wrote his first book, "Go Tell It On The Mountain" about his experiences as a young preacher. The book was well received. It was about this time that Baldwin moved to Paris, where he would call home.

Baldwin became part of the civil rights movement in the the late 1950's, and wrote "Nobody Knows My Name," addressing race relations in the US. During the 1950�s and 60�s, his voice was very important literary circles.