the process series

“Dear Baldwin” Podcast, hosted by Sharon P. Holland, Chair of the Department of American Studies and local activist Dolores Chandler, will take the form of a live taping of a podcast exploring the intersection of race and LGBTQ issues. This podcast imagines a conversation between call in guests and James Baldwin as a Dear Abby for the digital age. 

The work of James Baldwin, famed civil rights activist, novelist, essayist, and political icon, has had a resurgence in the last decade. While much has been made of his civil rights work of late and a generation of youth now know him through this lens, the creators of this podcast want to explore the deep structure of his presence in the LGBTQ community. “Dear Baldwin,” is several things all at once – it is a homage to his myriad essays, it is a call to an imagined audience to converse with him for advice, and it is an opportunity for folks to put their racial feelings out into the world. If you had a chance to ask James Baldwin a question, what would it be and how would Baldwin respond – what would he do, say or think? 

Co-sponsored by the Institute of Arts and Humanities 

*Part of The Faculty Series