What Would James Baldwin Do?

In honor of James Baldwin's 100th year, the What Would James Baldwin Do? festival reflects on the words and impact of this iconic Black American writer. James Baldwin's stories, essays and novels provide a profound analysis of the interrelationships between race, gender, sexuality and class. In ever new contexts, he made it clear that oppression is multidimensional and cannot be fought with the mere repetition of monotonous formulas. He always advocated not seeing the supposedly different in the other person, but rather the unifying human element. At the same time, he insisted on looking at the social circumstances that have made people who they are.

Kameron was invited to participate in this panel alongside writer Alice Hasters and theatermaker Jasco Viefhues, with moderation by festival curators Sasha Marianna Salzmann and Gürsoy Doğtaş. This panel uses Baldwin's theses to look at the complex relationships in society and asks about the significance of his intersectional approaches for our present.