James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Community Screening and Conversation with Dr. Keith Clark
Friday, August 2, 2024 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
AFI Silver Theatre & Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD
Strathmore and the Baldwin100 will celebrate the 100th birthday of James Baldwin on August 2nd, 2024. Strathmore is launching the James Baldwin series with a screening of "James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket," followed by a discussion led by Dr. Keith Clark, curator and host of the Baldwin100 and documentary film-maker and director of The Price of the Ticket, Karen Thorsen.
Location: AFI SILVER THEATRE AND CULTURAL CENTER, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910
RSVP/Tickets: https://www.strathmore.org/events-tickets/bloom-community-events/james-baldwin-the-price-of-the-ticket/
About the Documentary: James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a significant American author and civil rights activist, known for his prophetic voice addressing the racial issues faced by both Black and white Americans. "James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket" highlights Baldwin's passionate intellect and courageous writing. Produced by American Masters on PBS, the documentary features powerful archival footage that brings to life Baldwin's early years in Harlem during the '30s, his experiences in his father's fundamentalist church, and his time in the émigré demimonde of postwar Paris. Newsreel clips from the '60s showcase Baldwin's perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement. The film also delves into Baldwin's quieter moments in Paris, the South of France, Istanbul, and Switzerland—places where he found solace to write away from the racial tensions of America.
KEITH CLARK
Keith Clark is Distinguished University Professor of English and African and African American Studies. He earned a B.A. from the College of William and Mary (1985) and a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1993). He is the author of Black Manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines and August Wilson(Illinois UP, 2002), The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry (Louisiana State UP, 2013; winner of the College Language Association Creative Scholarship Award), and editor of Contemporary Black Men's Fiction and Drama (Illinois, 2001). His latest book, Navigating the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines: A Roadmap for Readers, was published in Spring 2020 by Louisiana State. His critical and pedagogical essays and book reviews have appeared in Callaloo, African American Review, The Oxford Companion to African American Literature, Resources for American Literary Study, American Writers V, Modern Drama, and GLQ. His teaching interests include Black Literary masculinity studies, the Black bildungsroman, and African American LGBT studies.
Strathmore and the Baldwin100 are collaborating on a series of events in Maryland & Washington - you can find these events listed under the Cheuse Center events.
They include:
1. Keith Clark speaking with the director of The Price of the Ticket documentary after a screening at AFI Silver Spring on 8/2/2024
2. Ethelbert Miller on 9/26/2024 at the Eaton House. See more here.
3. Meshell Ndegeocello on 10/5/2024 at Strathmore. See more here.
