James Baldwin was a crucial chronicler of the African American experience in 20th-century America. Born in 1924 in Harlem, New York, as James Jones, he spent the first few years of his life with his young single mother. Emma Jones had made her way to New York during the Great Migration. When her son was about 3 years old, she married David Baldwin, a Baptist minister who became Baldwin’s stepfather. The young Baldwin had a strict childhood but took solace in reading and writing; he also took an active role in helping care for his eight younger siblings. As a teenager, he was a youth minister in a local Pentecostal church — an experience that greatly shaped his future work and his eventual rejection of religion in favor of humanism.

After high school, Baldwin began establishing himself within the New York City creative community. In 1948 at 24 years old, just as he was gaining recognition for his essay “The Harlem Ghetto,” he sought refuge from the racial and sexual discrimination plaguing him in Harlem and moved to Paris. It was a prolific time in his career: In 1952 he completed his first novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, a vivid depiction of the African American experience that’s now considered a classic of contemporary literature. Giovanni’s Room followed in 1956, sparking controversy for its frank rethinking of sexuality, masculinity, and identity.

Baldwin remained connected to the U.S. during his early years abroad. He frequently returned stateside to visit family and to support the Civil Rights Movement, taking part in several pivotal events such as the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. In 1963, Baldwin published his bestselling book The Fire Next Time, a powerful reflection on race relations in America. Baldwin received numerous accolades throughout his career, including Guggenheim and Ford Foundation fellowships and an induction into France’s prestigious Legion of Honour. He wrote until his death in 1987 at the age of 63.