The New York Public Library is honoring the 100th birthday of writer, activist, and library patron James Baldwin with two exhibitions containing never-before-seen writings by him, giving the public a deep dive into the artistic and personal elements that shaped and defined his legacy.
“You’re seeing highlights from childhood to his death,” said Barrye Brown, curator of Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books at the Schomburg Center and the Baldwin exhibition “Jimmy! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth.”
“You’re getting this glimpse into his social circles and his creative process in terms of writing all of his novels, essays, and plays. You’re getting a glimpse into his personal relationships and friendships.”
The “James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire” exhibition within the Polonsky exhibition of the New York Public Library’s Treasures at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (42nd Street Library) features see works from Baldwin’s earlier years of publishing, including draft pages from “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Giovanni’s Room,” and “The Fire Next Time.”
“It’s sort of like James Baldwin 101,” 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.” He invited the public to come to the exhibition to “learn his origin story and learn about his most important works. It’s a really good primer for getting to know James Baldwin.”
From hurried handwritten notes and letters sent to literary acquaintances to rough drafts and essays of writings that would later become revered in the literary world and early book covers and graphics that evoke nostalgia, the exhibitions present a candid portrait of the author’s philosophical and artistic mind.
“He stands as a model for bravery to speak truth to power, but also to write what you feel you need to write, even if other people tell you that you shouldn’t write that,” said Carter.
Baldwin’s “truth-telling” is more relevant than ever today, Carter said.
“He basically told America what was going to happen to America if America did not get things together,” said Schomburg visitor Isoul Hussein Harris. “And as we see, America still has not gotten things together, and all of [Baldwin’s] prophecies are coming true. The chickens are coming home to roost, so to speak.”
Leah Mallory photos
“Jimmy! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth” exhibition title on wall at Schomburg Center 
Baldwin dancing with woman against orange backdrop 
Screens hold more information about Baldwin at Schomburg exhibition 
Visitors exploring “Jimmy!God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth” exhibition 
James Baldwin Time Magazine cover at “James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire” exhibition 
Giovanni’s room book covers at “James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire” exhibition
Robyne Walker Murphy, another visitor, echoed similar sentiments, noting Baldwin’s ability to offer hope while telling hard truths. “I thought he was brilliant in the way that he articulated the African American experience and [how] Black people experience racism in this country in a way that’s very critical, but also in a way that exhibited a lot of hope for what the future could bring if his warnings were heeded” she said.
The curators explained that the library played a critical role in fostering that brilliance. Baldwin visited the 135th Street library—now the Schomburg Center—as a child, encouraged by one of his school teachers, who recognized his talent for writing, the curators said.
“He’s often quoted as saying that he came to visit the 135th Street branch library at least three or four times a week, so as a small child, he’s in this library environment, surrounded by books by and about Black people. If you can just only imagine [it], that has to be an incredible experience for a young Black child growing up in Harlem.”
When Baldwin became a teenager, he visited the 42nd Street library, at the coaxing of another school teacher. There, he learned how to do research for the first time, said Brown.
“It was very shortly after that he developed a really strong relationship with that library too, not only to do research but as a hangout when he was a teenager,” Carter added. “He had a lot of different jobs in Midtown and he would just come to the 42nd Street Library as a place to meet friends on the steps. He would hang out in Bryant Park on breaks from work.”
The 42nd Street Library would be referenced several times in Baldwin’s first novel, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” indicating how significant it was to his life and the 135th library for his beginnings.
“The character John Grimes—the main character who’s 14 years old in ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’—is very much a version of James Baldwin at that same age, and there’s a scene where John Grimes passes by the 42nd Street Library and he thinks about how one day he’ll get the nerve to go into that building, but not yet,” he said.
The “James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire” exhibition takes its name from two of Baldwin’s novels, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “The Fire Next Time,” which for Carter encapsulate Baldwin’s trajectory from budding writer to outspoken activist.
“‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’ in 1953 was the first novel to establish Baldwin as an up-and-coming writer, and then in 1963, ‘The Fire Next Time’ brought him into the Civil Rights Movement as one of its most important voices,” Carter said.
The title, “Jimmy! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth,” comes from a eulogy by poet Amiri Baraka at Baldwin’s funeral in 1987, explained Brown. “Baraka delivered the line, ‘For Jimmy was God’s Black revolutionary mouth,’ speaking to Baldwin’s “never-ending commitment to radical truth-telling,” said Brown. “That, to me, is the enduring legacy of James Baldwin, and it’s a lesson for us all. The 100th birthday celebration helps to preserve that legacy, honoring Baldwin’s impact through the timelessness of his work.”
Visitors can also enjoy walking tours, artistic and writing workshops, and various other free events.
For more information, visit: www.nypl.org/spotlight/baldwin100.
Exhibition dates:
“James Baldwin: Mountain to Fire,” open through fall 2025
“Jimmy! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth,” open through February 28, 2025