James Baldwin was interviewed by ABC News in 1979. What he discusses are the challenges of racism and poverty that never were eliminated from the United States. Through Baldwin's hardship he was able to produce various novels and essays criticizing America's contradictions and abuses. The interview notes that the Church had a major influence on his literary works. One of his novels Giovanni's Room had to be published in England, because the publishers in America were uncomfortable with a novel discussing homosexuality. During the 1950s discussions of sex and sexuality were taboo. James Baldwin was not afraid to speak of America's institutionalized anti-black racism. As Baldwin explained "you cannot swear by the freedom of all mankind and put me in chains." Enslavement, discrimination, and prejudice tarnished the United States. This interview from 1979 does what most news program rarely do. Telling the truth and information the public does not want to acknowledge.
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