How To Build A Fire: James Baldwin 2-Day Convening

As we celebrate the centennial birth of James “Jimmy” Baldwin, our Great Bard of Harlem, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is excited to host a two-day convening, How To Build A Fire, October 4-5, 2024, in collaboration with the Institute for Research in African American Studies and Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, Columbia University.

We gather not only in response to a world in turmoil (again), but also to invite and engage conversations about being ourselves, doing our work, and lighting our own fires this time/in our own time. Rather than building and burnishing an unusable icon, How To Build A Fire lovingly and critically reflects on the blackprints James Baldwin wrote for his time, toward building and making our own interventions in the present. A stellar group of scholars, organizers, and creatives joining us include Prentice Hemphill, Bettina Love, PhD, Derrais Carter, PhD, Marsha Jean-Charles, PhD, Dante Stewart, Farah Jasmine Griffin, PhD, Darnell Moore, and more.

Schedule will be available beginning September 17

ASL interpretation will be provided upon availability of interpreters. Live captioning is available for streaming programs. Additional accessibility requests can be made by e-mail [email protected].

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FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Events are free and open to all, but due to space constraints registration is requested. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. After the event starts all registered seats are released regardless of registration, so we recommend that you arrive early.

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Header artwork: "Fire Time" by artist Jules Arthur

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Copies of books by our participants will be available for purchase from the Schomburg Shop in Harlem and we'll have book signings throughout the day. We will also giveaway several titles by James Baldwin. The giveaway is limited to one book per patron and will run while supplies last.

JIMMY! God's Black Revolutionary Mouth

Through February 28, 2025 | Schomburg Center, Main Exhibition Hall

In his eulogy for James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka referred to him as “God’s black revolutionary mouth,” invoking Baldwin's enduring legacy of radical truth-telling. On public display for the first time, the Schomburg Center proudly presents selections from Baldwin’s archive of personal papers that highlight his literary career and legacy from childhood to death. These items are presented along with other Schomburg materials that illuminate the passion, brilliance, and courageous spirit of James “Jimmy” Baldwin.

Visit the exhibition

Listen to the exhibition audio guide, hosted by Meshell Ndegeocello, on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app—or online!

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E-TRANSPORTATION NYPL policy prohibits electric transportation devices (e.g., motorbikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards) from being brought into or stored at library sites for any length of time, as this is the best way to keep our spaces & people safe.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at [email protected].

Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

IN-PERSON | By registering for this event, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending an in-person program at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold The New York Public Library, its Trustees, officers, agent and employees liable for any illness or injury. If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, United States