No Name in the Street

No Name in the Street is a nonfiction book by American author James Baldwin, originally published in 1972. Baldwin recounts his own experience of racism as an African American man and the events that shaped his consciousness and views. The text describes the circumstances of his leaving from America and his travels to Europe, his return to the United States during the emergence of the civil rights movement, and the political impact of the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers.

James Baldwin was an acclaimed African American novelist, playwright, and essayist whose work focuses on the topics of race, sexuality, masculinity, and class in the context of the American social movements of the mid-20th century. Baldwin received the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1954.

This study guide refers to the 2007 e-book edition by Vintage International.

Content Warning: The source material discusses issues of racism. The study guide quotes the author’s reproduction and use of epithets as well as the terminology regarding the history of enslavement in America. The guide also quotes and obscures the n-word.

Summary

The text begins with Baldwin’s memories of his childhood in Harlem, his mother, and his troubled relationship with his stepfather, a minister.