This Friday marks what would have been the 100th birthday of author and activist James Baldwin.
To celebrate, Strathmore is partnering with the AFI Silver Theatre and Eaton D.C. to host a special James Baldwin Centennial Series that runs from Aug. 2 through Oct. 5.
“Aug. 2 is a really important date,” Strathmore Vice President of Education & Community Engagement Lauren Campbell told WTOP. “It is the 100th anniversary of James Baldwin’s birth. It is also the day that an album drops by an incredible musician named Meshell Ndegeocello. she’s dropping an album based on Baldwin’s seminal work ‘The Fire Next Time,’ so all on that day we are launching our in-depth James Baldwin series of events.”
It kicks off Aug. 2 with “The Price of the Ticket” (1989) at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland.
“This is a screening of the documentary ‘The Price of the Ticket,’ which was produced and directed by Karen Thorsen,” Strathmore Community Engagement & Education Manager Pablo de Oliveira told WTOP. “We are having George Mason University professor Dr. Keith Clark have a conversation with producer-director Karen Thorsen, so we’ll do a screening of the movie then after that there’s going to be a Q&A and conversation.”
Aug. 15 brings a “Creative Writing Workshop: The Evidence of Things Not Seen” at Strathmore.
“We have this incredible writer, Derrick Weston Brown, who has a master’s degree in writing from American University,” Campbell said. “He is going to be leading this and it’s a hybrid workshop of in-person at Strathmore or you can also join on Zoom. It’ll be a poetry workshop that draws inspiration from James Baldwin’s work and really relies on the senses, the five senses, to create powerful poetry, so it’ll be a really fun community experience.”
Sept. 7 brings “Dramatic Excerpts: Go the Way Your Blood Beats” at Strathmore.
“We have a youth arts group called DIALECT of Prince George’s County led by Patrick T. Washington,” de Oliveira said. “He’s been doing a series of workshops with high schoolers and they’re gonna do a youth poetry reading. … Directly following that, we have Dr. Khalid Long, a professor at Howard University’s theater department, bringing students to do select readings from plays that Baldwin created: ‘The Amen Corner’ and ‘Blues for Mister Charlie.'”
Sept. 26 moves over to Eaton D.C. for a special lecture called “James Baldwin at the Crossroads.”
“We’re doing ‘The Devil Finds Work’ with E. Ethelbert Miller,” de Oliveira said. “That’s a really exciting partnership with Eaton House, which is part of Eaton Hotel, and we’re going to do a book reading there and a talk about that.”
Finally, the series wraps Oct. 5 with 11-time Grammy-nominated neo-soul artist Meshell Ndegeocello performing “No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin” at Strathmore with a Q&A between the Smithsonian’s Timothy Anne Burnside and New York Times music critic Marcus Moore, who happens to be a former WTOP colleague.
“They will preview what the audience will get to hear on stage that night and dive into the musical side of Meshell’s artistry,” Campbell said. “The reason that we built this whole series is because of Meshell Ndegeocello. She’s on our stage and we took inspiration from her work called ‘No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin.’ That is the album that is dropping Aug. 2 and it will be performed with other works on our stage on Oct. 5.”
The series is a full-circle moment for Baldwin, whose mother was born in Deale Island, Maryland, and whose groundbreaking words continue to inspire with prophetic warnings, advice and hope for American equality.
“Baldwin is one of the most important writers, intellectuals, activists of the 20th century,” Campbell said. “He did not have a straightforward sexuality … he was constantly writing about how America needs to face its tragic racial past … and he had really beautiful ways of encouraging Americans about being honest with ourselves about where we came from so we can build a better world. … It’s so important to keep learning from James Baldwin.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
