James Baldwin

James Baldwin, born in Harlem in 1924, was a queer black novelist whose work centered around systemic inequality in America, specifically as it related to the Civil Rights movement and sexuality. The prolific author saw himself as a “disturber of the peace” - shedding light on the uncomfortable truths of systemic intersectional oppression marginalized communities face in America. Even outside his work as an essayist, author, and poet, he was also a playwright whose work had Broadway debuts. He passed away after battling cancer at the age of 63 in 1987.
To this day, his work is praised for being an honest, raw depiction of American life and the intersectionally oppressive systems within it.