Listen: James Baldwin Continues to Provide Keen Insight on Race Relations

When he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Great Lives, financial expert and television personality Alvin Hall cited author James Baldwin as a tremendous influencer on his early life. BBC writes:

"Baldwin was born in 1924 in Harlem and his achievements in overcoming a difficult start in life were prodigious. For much of his life he lived outside the United States, returning in the late 1950s to support the nascent Civil Rights movement, though the Movement itself had some problems with his homosexuality. Throughout his life he continued to write about the experiences of being black in 20th century America and is now widely regarded as the pre-eminent African-American writer of the century."

Hall discusses with host Matthew Parris and Baldwin-expert Douglas Field about the author's prolific experiences as an artist, activist, and gay black man in America. In light of the increasingly troubling race relations and police violence persisting today, conversations surrounding Baldwin's work seem all the more pertinent and enlightening.

Give the podcast a listen now.