Sitting at Baldwin’s table

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Last year, in the dispatch “There Is No Texting at James Baldwin’s Table,” I began to assess the ways in which audiences were engaging with Baldwin’s writing at several public discussions that I co-facilitated with NYC actor/comedian Grant Cooper. Based on the initial reaction to two five-part Baldwin conversations at a high school and middle school in Manhattan, I posited that a need for meaningful communion is drawing people to discuss the writer. As I wrote that article, I was busy scheduling seven new Baldwin discussions in communities across New Jersey and another five-part series in Manhattan. Having completed those sessions, I am pleased to report that Baldwin’s welcome table is indeed a powerful vehicle for engaging in impactful dialogue. This dispatch will demonstrate that discussing Baldwin not only opened an avenue for productive sharing but went further by inspiring people to ask how they could contribute to hastening positive social and personal transformation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105-115
Number of pages11
JournalJames Baldwin Review
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2019

Keywords

  • African-American history
  • James Baldwin
  • Public discussion
  • Public scholarship
  • The welcome table

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