Scope and arrangement
The collection depicts aspects of the personal life, literary career, and some civil rights activities of writer and activist James Baldwin. Depictions of Baldwin's personal life before the 1960s, his family, and his civil rights activities are limited.
The personal photographs consist of portraits and views of Baldwin at home; engaged in social activities with relatives, friends, and colleagues; traveling; and individual and group portraits of friends and some family members. Some of the portraits of Baldwin (in the "Portraits of James Baldwin" group") may have been taken for publicity or photojournalistic purposes. Included in this material are views of Baldwin at his residence in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France; documentation of Baldwin in Turkey; and views of Baldwin visiting his friend, painter Beauford Delaney, at Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris, France. Among the other individuals depicted with Baldwin are Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Bernard Hassell, and David Baldwin, James's brother.
The professional photographs consist of portraits of Baldwin used to promote his various publications; candid shots and views of Baldwin engaged in activities and events related to his literary endeavors, including book signings, lectures, meetings and interviews; and views of theatrical productions of his plays. A significant portion of the promotional material was created by the Dial Press, publisher of the majority of Baldwin's books from 1956 to 1979. Of note is a photo album depicting Baldwin's participation at the October 1986 Issyk-Kul Forum, held on Lake Issyk-Kul in Soviet-era Kyrgyzstan, with other intellectuals from around the world. Also present are scenes and other images -- mainly in the form of contact sheets -- relating to different productions of his plays The Amen Corner and Blues for Mister Charlie, including a production starring Claudia McNeil, and a production directed by Frank Silvera and starring Beah Richards. Of note are a group of negatives depicting Pentecostal church services, some identified as Fireside Pentecostal Assembly, in Harlem, taken by photographer Theodore Pelatowski, Baldwin's collaborator on an unpublished book entitled Unto the Dying Lamb (circa 1948), for which Baldwin was awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship.
The Civil Rights Movement material (1960s-1980s) consists of images of Baldwin, mainly in the form of contact sheets, conducting interviews, at an unidentified rally, and engaged in related activities, primarily in Louisiana and North Carolina. Included are publicity photographs for the 1982 documentary I Heard It Through the Grapevine, in which Baldwin retraces his time in the South during the Civil Rights Movement.
Arrangement
Material is organized into three groups: Personal, Professional, and Civil Rights. Folders are generally arranged chronologically, with exceptions, noted herein, that relate to the dimensions of materials and photographer credit.