James A. Baldwin
Writer, 1924–1987
James A. Baldwin is an American writer and playwright, who was born in 1924 in Harlem, New York. While he showed interest and skill in writing at a young age, it was in 1943 that he began devoting himself to writing. In 1948, with a fellowship in hand, he moved to Paris, France. This change of location, widened his perspective and his writing began to include more about his personal and racial background. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, which was loosely biographical, was published in 1953.
On January 14, 1962, The New York Times published an article written by James A. Baldwin titled, "As Much Truth As One Can Bear." In this piece, he spoke out about the world as it was in 1962—a post-World War society—and calls for the American writer to examine it critically. It is at the very end of this article that Baldwin’s now famous quote appears:
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
