Poets and artists Jessica Care Moore, Charles Reese, Ashleigh M. Barice, Sabrina Nelson and Rowan Edwards
enjoy a moment together.
Journalogue Two: James Baldwin: Public Policies and Sociopolitical Visions (Panel #25)
On Saturday, May 28, 2016, I along with my fellow panelists: Catherine Smith, an attorney who was presenting with
her 12-year-old daughter, Zoe Smith-Holladay (the youngest presenter in the room and the conference) – University of
Denver; Catherine Taylor, Ithaca College, New York; and Sarita Cannon, San Francisco State University gathered in
this literary sacred space. Each panelist did not know each other prior to meeting in this room for a presentation but our
presentations perfectly intertwined as if it were divinely planned. This unique panel was curated by AUP based on our
individually submitted abstracts in the fall of 2015. We were vessels placed in a room with a specific subject matter to
share as it relates to our muse, James Baldwin.
I was the first one in the room, to bear witness as Baldwin would say, and my journey began with a lively introduction
from our panel chair, Catherine Taylor. I rose from my seat joyously singing a call and response song, “Keep Your Eye
On The Prize,” in the tradition of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and paying homage to Baldwin’s The Fire Next
Time. I engaged the audience to participate in this interactive moment, while I was preparing my way to the podium to
deliver my Baldwin inspired presentation, “James Baldwin: Artist as Activist and the Baldwin/Kennedy Secret Summit
of 1963.” This scarcely known secret meeting was attended by Lorraine Hansberry, Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Dr.
Kenneth Clarke and young freedom fighter Jerome Smith. It was a surreal moment of history that I will remember for
a lifetime. The meeting inspired the premise for an off-Broadway play, “James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire,” by the late
playwright, Howard B. Simon. My complete essay is published in the book volume, “James Baldwin: Challenging
Authors” Chapter #8. Sense Publishers. (www.sensepublishers.com) and the full play book version of James Baldwin:
A Soul On Fire is available on Amazon.
I was graciously followed by the magical mother/daughter literary duet Catherine Smith and Zoe Smith-Holladay who
passionately spoke on the subject of “Baldwin and Generational Perspectives on Civil Rights Advocacy”, coupled with
Catherine Taylor’s insightful and critical analysis on “Race Politics and Hybrid Genres in James Baldwin and Claudia
Rankine: From Epic to Lyric Essays”; and Sarita Cannon’s lyrical essay on “The Subversive Potential of Black Joy:
Re-imagining Protest in the Work of James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry.”
The highlight of this eclectic Baldwin Panel #25 was the youngest presenter in the room, Zoe Smith-Holladay who
delivered a heart felt poem she wrote in response to her mother’s presentation on Civil Rights advocacy. It was a priceless
moment where I believe the spirit of James Baldwin as an ancestor entered our room with joy and appreciation.
african Voices
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