James Baldwin and Britain

Lead Research Organisation: The University of Manchester
Department Name: Arts Languages and Cultures

Abstract

James Baldwin was globally esteemed as an author and activist in the 1960s, renowned as the most eloquent voice of the civil rights movement. However, by the 1970s, Baldwin's reputation as an artist and activist had dwindled. Critics accused him of being out of touch, and he had retreated to Europe, far from the maelstrom of the Black Art and Black Power movements in the USA. Yet in the last two decades, and particularly since the growth of Black Lives Matter after 2013, Baldwin has again become a global icon. However, studies of Baldwin's international profile ignore his notable presence in British culture, and his influence on generations of British artists and activists. Similarly, they elide Baldwin's insights into Britain's colonial past, and what he reveals about the relationship between African American and Black Diasporic cultures. At the centennial of his birth, this project proposes a reappraisal of how James Baldwin has influenced British-based artists and activists from the 1960s to the present, and what his life and work say about the connections between structures of global racism, imperialism, and colonialism.

Baldwin visited the UK on numerous occasions between the 1960s and the 1980s. A sharp commentator on British race relations, he was the subject of a major documentary and several interviews; he gave high-profile speeches in support of black prisoners, and won a televised debate at the Cambridge Union. In his final years, when Baldwin's reputation was at a low ebb elsewhere, his play The Amen Corner became the first Black British production to reach the West End. Baldwin has also been cited as a source of political and aesthetic inspiration by generations of British-based artists, critics, and activists, from CLR James, Hanif Kureishi, and Leila Hassan Howe to Black Lives Matter UK and the black British female collective, gal-dem.

The project is led by an experienced international team of scholars from Literary Studies, Politics, and History, and is supported by an advisory team of academics, artists, and activists. It aims to reflect Baldwin's status as a global writer and activist, a literary and public figure whose work cuts across genres and disciplines. It also asks how we might interpret engagement with different aspects of Baldwin's work as a means for understanding the shifting priorities of black British arts, activism and politics. Work will proceed in three strands, each combining research, dissemination and impact activities:

First, an oral history project will collect testimonies from Black British artists and activists who knew and/or have been influenced by Baldwin's life and work. High quality recordings and transcriptions of these interviews will be made freely available, and an accessible edited collection that mixes interviews and essays by participants will be produced to target a wide audience.

A second strand will profile James Baldwin as an activist in British public life. A comprehensive database of Baldwin in British national print media from the 1960s will be complemented by a two-day symposium of academics, artists and activists who will discuss Baldwin's wide-ranging impact. This event will result in an edited academic volume which will further scholarship on Baldwin as a transnational author and activist who transcended Black, queer, and transnational identities, as well as documenting his relationship to Black British feminism.

Finally, a third strand on visual culture will analyse Baldwin the 'celebrity', a new voice at the dawn of televisual culture. Collaborations with the Barbican in London and HOME in Manchester will create a filmic archive of Baldwin's connections to Britain. Public screenings and talks will further understanding of Baldwin in the popular imagination, while a programme of events - including creative programmes for young people - will engage diverse audiences.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Collaboration with Home Arts Centre, Manchester 
Organisation HOME Manchester
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Working with Rachel Hayward, head of film at HOME, we curated a season of films exploring James Baldwin's relationship to Britain, followed by post-screen discussions and talks with high-profile speakers, among them Gary Younge. All screenings were sold out. The films took place between 11-19th September, 2024.
Collaborator Contribution We worked closely with the team at HOME, who provided the cinema space, marketing and coms, and access to their mailing lists.
Impact The following multidisciplinary outputs took place (the disciplines were film, politics and literature) Wednesday 11th September, 2024 I Am Not Your Negro + Intro & Discussion Directed by Raoul Peck This screening was introduced by film critic Ellen E. Jones, and followed by a discussion with Ellen and Douglas Field, Baldwin scholar and founding editor of James Baldwin Review (University of Manchester) Monday 16th September, 2024 Has the American Dream Been Achieved at the Expense of the American Negro? The Cambridge Union, 1965 and Baldwin's N****r. Dir Horace Ové, 1968 This screening was followed by a discussion featuring contributions from Professor Douglas Field, Baldwin scholar and founding editor of James Baldwin Review (University of Manchester); artist, researcher and educator Barby Asante; and actor, writer and director Burt Caesar. Thursday 19th September, 2024 I Heard it Through the Grapevine + Recorded Intro & Discussion This screening was preceded by a specially recorded introduction by director Pat Hartley, and followed by a discussion led by Gary Younge (author, broadcaster and Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester) and Remi Joseph-Salisbury (Reader in Sociology at the University of Manchester).
Start Year 2024
 
Description Partnership with the Barbican Centre, London 
Organisation Barbican Centre
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Working with Gali Gold, head of film at the Barbican Centre, our research team curated a series of four films and talks titled 'The Devil Finds Work: James Baldwin and Film' from May 2nd-22nd, 2024. Our research team pitched the idea to the Barbican, and then worked closely with the Barbican team to select and curate the four films and talks. The events generated substantial national coverage, including articles in the Guardian and Evening Standard newspapers.
Collaborator Contribution Our partners at the Barbican provided the cinema space for the four films and talks, as well as the marketing and coms. Using the Barbican's mailing list, we were able to reach out to a wide potential audience, which resulted in 375 bookings, one of the the most successful seasons in the Barbican's recent history.
Impact Guardian article, 30th April, 2024 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/apr/30/james-baldwin-hollywood-oscar-fbi-marlon-brando-bergman Evening Standard article, 2nd May, 2024 https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/how-the-great-james-baldwin-continues-to-influence-londoners-today-from-zadie-smith-to-ian-wright-b1155345.html Dr Clive Nwonka, the lead curator, has a book under contract with Manchester University Press that comes directly from the Baldwin Barbican film series. The following multidisciplinary outputs took place (the disciplines were film, politics and literature) Thursday 2nd May 2024 If Beale Street Could Talk + ScreenTalk with Dr Kesewa John, Barrister Danielle Manson and Barry Jenkins (via Zoom), short intro by Clive Nwonka Wednesday 8th May 2024 Hunger + ScreenTalk with screenwriter Enda Walsh & Lola Boorman, hosted by Clive Nwonka Sunday 12th May, 2024 The Devil Finds Work: Shorts programme (15*) + ScreenTalk with Ayo Akingbade and Rhea Storr, hosted by Ellen E Jones Wednesday 22nd May, 2024 35 Shots of Rum (12A) [35mm] + ScreenTalk with Dr Hélène Neveu Kringelbach & Rogan Graham, hosted by Clive Nwonka
Start Year 2024