The Rockpile

“The Rockpile” is a short story by the novelist, essayist, and civil rights activist James Baldwin. Although it was originally published in Baldwin’s only short story collection, 1965’s Going to Meet the Man, it was likely written much earlier, as it uses characters that appear in his 1953 semi-autobiographical debut novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain. This guide refers to the 1995 First Vintage International edition of Going to Meet the Man.

“The Rockpile” takes place in Harlem in the 1930s. John and Roy are half brothers who live across the street from a rockpile on which other Black boys fight after school and all day every weekend. The brothers believe the rockpile is a place of great power because their aunt told them it prevents the subway cars from flying off the tracks. John is the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Grimes, while Roy is the son of Elizabeth and Gabriel Grimes, a pastor. Elizabeth and Gabriel also have two other children, Paul and Delilah. Elizabeth forbids either boy from going to the rockpile but mostly addresses her warnings to Roy; while John is afraid of the rockpile, Roy is drawn to it.