James Baldwin

Carl Van Vechten's 1955 portrait of James Baldwin (1924-1987) dates from the same year in which the author's Notes of a Native Son was published. This collection of primarily autobiographical essays earned generous acclaim from many, including Langston Hughes, who praised it as "thought-provoking, tantalizing, irritating, abusing, and amusing." While physically slight and soft-spoken, Baldwin emerged at mid-century as one of the most passionate and eloquent writers about the problem of race in American society. He did so from abroad, however, having relocated to Paris in 1948 in order to escape intolerance in America. Although he was featured in 1963 on the cover of Time magazine Baldwin was reluctant to serve as a leader or a spokes person in the campaign for civil rights; instead, as he later explained, he wished to "bear witness to the truth."