James Baldwin (1924-1987) was an American novelist, playwright, and activist. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son, explore intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America. An unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, was expanded and adapted for cinema as the Academy Award nominated documentary film, I Am Not Your Negro. One of his novels, If Beale Street Could Talk, was adapted into an Academy Award-winning dramatic film in 2018. Baldwin's novels and plays explore the fundamental questions and dilemmas faced by Black and gay and bisexual men amid complex social and psychological pressures.