James Baldwin was a novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist. One of my favorite authors; many of his writing pieces helped to form my writing style. Most of Baldwin’s work deals with racial and sexual issues in the mid-20th century in the United States. His novels are notable for the personal way in which they explore questions of identity as well as the way in which they mine complex social and psychological pressures related to being Black and homosexual well before the social, cultural or political equality of these groups was improved. Here is a little fact about James Baldwin, he was originally chosen to write the screenplay for Alex Haley’s Malcolm X autobiography.