Published on Feb. 22, 2022

To celebrate Black History Month our CASE Marketing interns are highlighting their most influential figures. In this video, intern Ryan Wilson Honors Writer and Activist, James Baldwin.

Hi guys! My name is Ryan Wilson. I am a journalism major with an emphasis in strategic communications and I am a marketing intern here for CASE. An influential figure that I chose for Black History Month is James Baldwin.

James Baldwin is an American writer, activist, and poet that has always been near and dear to my heart. Being known for his activism through his writing, Baldwin tied current events of racial and sexual discrimination into his writings. Baldwin’s impact on the black community can be seen throughout many of his interviews and his famous quotes.

Baldwin experienced much discrimination firsthand for being a black gay man in America during the mid-1950s. Much of his writing includes characters that face themes of class, sexuality and race struggles that Baldwin has experienced himself. Baldwin’s courage is one of the main reasons why I look up to him. Baldwin’s classic books like “I Am Not Your Negro,” “Remember This House,” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” have all been adapted onto the big screen. 

Baldwin’s impact on American literature can be seen through many different aspects of my life. From my past English classes to my own taste in literature, Baldwin has been a part of my life in many ways and will continue to be. Like Baldwin said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.”