Q 01/05

In which New York neighbourhood was James Baldwin born?

A) Bedford-Stuyvesant

B) Brooklyn Heights

C) Harlem

D) Greenwich Village

Answer · why

C) Harlem

Harlem: in 'Notes of a Native Son' he recalls burying his stepfather amid the wreckage of the 1943 Harlem riot.

Q 02/05

In 1970 Baldwin wrote an open letter to which jailed activist, calling her his sister?

A) Kathleen Cleaver

B) Angela Davis

C) Elaine Brown

D) Fannie Lou Hamer

Answer · why

B) Angela Davis

Angela Davis: she was jailed on charges tied to a deadly 1970 courtroom takeover, and a jury later acquitted her of all charges.

Q 03/05

What was the occupation of Baldwin's stepfather, David Baldwin?

A) Pullman porter

B) Baptist preacher

C) Jazz trumpeter

D) Schoolteacher

Answer · why

B) Baptist preacher

Baptist preacher: James, the eldest child, took wartime defense work in New Jersey to help support the family.

Q 04/05

Which celebrated poet taught Baldwin French at Frederick Douglass Junior High?

A) Claude McKay

B) Langston Hughes

C) Countee Cullen

D) Jean Toomer

Answer · why

C) Countee Cullen

Countee Cullen: a prize-winning star in his twenties, he saw his reputation as a poet wane by about 1930 and taught in New York schools from 1934 unti...

Q 05/05

Which future photographer worked with Baldwin on the De Witt Clinton school magazine?

A) Irving Penn

B) Gordon Parks

C) Diane Arbus

D) Richard Avedon

Answer · why

D) Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon: the two classmates reunited for Nothing Personal, a 1964 book pairing Avedon's photographs with Baldwin's text.