This event is excluded from the HOME Film Pass
This double-bill presents two shorter works documenting James Baldwin’s visits to the UK in the 1960s. During this time, Baldwin – who was already an established author and figure in US domestic politics – emerged as one of the most significant, international voices of the growing civil rights movement.
Screening in this programme:
Has the American Dream Been Achieved at the Expense of the American Negro?
The Cambridge Union, 1965
In 1965, James Baldwin was invited by the historic Cambridge Union debating society to propose the motion in a debate that asked: has the American Dream been achieved at the expense of the American Negro?
His opponent was William F. Buckley Jr. – a prominent conservative commentator and public intellectual.
Their resulting debate would go on to gain legendary status as one of the most emphatic articulations of the racial, political and cultural concerns that dominated American life during the civil rights movement.
Footage provided by Aeon Media Group Ltd. Please note that this film is presented from an archival source. While it is not high resolution, it remains a compelling document of Baldwin’s activism and a vital historical resource to be shared.
Baldwin’s N****r
Dir Horace Ové, 1968
A striking portrait of James Baldwin at his sharp-witted best addressing a group of radical West Indian students in 1960s London. Accompanied by comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory, Baldwin discusses Black experience and identity in both Britain and America, as well as the ongoing Vietnam War.
Impassioned and entertaining, this is a fascinating snapshot of Baldwin, and a key early work from pioneering Black British filmmaker Sir Horace Ové.
Event/ This screening will be 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.
Image: James Baldwin & Dick Gregory (Baldwin’s N****r, 1968)