Friday Bulletin

Dear Parents and Carers,

Part of the process of growing up is meeting new people who share their cultural interests and experiences with you. That can be places they have visited, music they enjoy, books they have read. Sometimes that can make you see the world differently, increasing your awareness of things that you haven’t encountered before. 

I studied History at University and met someone in 1991 that had a very profound impact on my life. They were studying History and English Literature, and, in the language of the time, they were very ‘well read.’ Whilst I’d read science fiction, horror, and dystopian novels from the local library, they had read much more widely and had access to an enviable number of books at home. 

 

My reason for sharing that detail is that their love of reading directed me towards books that I’d never heard of, or that I wouldn’t naturally have read. They included novels by F Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf, Milan Kundera, Ralph Ellison, Edith Wharton, Saul Bellow, Truman Capote, Angela Carter and James Baldwin. Each gave me access to worlds and stories that I hadn’t encountered before. I would equate that form of cultural awakening as being a little like a growth spurt, and I can still trace a number of my current interests back to that period of wider reading. 

 

Of all the authors, the one that wrote about a time and place I thought I had some knowledge of was James Baldwin. At the time I was studying American political history and had recently studied the civil rights movement. The background to his writing seemed to suggest a focus on the African American campaign for greater equality during the Jim Crow period of the 1950s and early 1960s. However, when I actually read the first of his recommended novels, I was genuinely surprised. ‘Another Country’ certainly has important themes linked to race, identity and equality in the America of that period, but Baldwin also writes about same sex relationships and the difficulties experienced by characters who are both African American and gay at a time when the law was used to restrict people with those characteristics. Those themes are also evident in his short novel ‘Giovanni’s Room’ set in Paris. I had read very few books that considered personal relationships – Julia and Winston in ‘1984’ was as close as I’d previously got and that isn’t, perhaps, a particularly positive example – and certainly none that explored issues of identity, self-perception, and what it felt like to be excluded based upon a fundamental aspect of your nature or sexuality. There are a number of other excellent books by Baldwin, and he was also a great public speaker: charismatic and intelligent, outspoken and argumentative if necessary. The main theme of many of his books – regardless of the race or sexuality of his characters – is that not being able to love the people that you want to love harms people and is fundamentally unjust. He noted that, ‘It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.’  He was also an advocate of free speech, and reacted negatively if people tried to tell him what he could or couldn’t say, do or think.

 

I have previously referenced how important reading is for the development of any child or young person. Books take us to places that we haven’t visited before and give us an insight into the lives of people that are often quite different to our own. Whilst I read those Baldwin novels 33 years ago, they still resonate, and my interest in James Baldwin has remained strong. Therefore, I was thrilled when, as part of February’s LBGT+ History month, the BBC identified that he was a key literary figure that more people might enjoy reading. We are currently running a competition encouraging students to make a poster celebrating the achievements of historical individuals who identified as being LGBT+. The chosen person can be an important writer, musician, athlete or, in line with this year’s theme, a talented individual who has made a significant impact scientifically. The school’s Pride Groups have also planned a talk on ‘Hidden Histories.’ If I were choosing a figure to focus upon for the competition, it would definitely be James Baldwin, and I would urge anyone who loves literature to read his books.

 

One of the things about being of a certain age is that you start to accumulate enough personal history to genuinely see when things have improved and where things have stalled or even, regrettably, gone backwards. When I was a child in the 1980s, the thought of LGBT+ History month being nationally celebrated, and pride groups doing positive work in schools would have been difficult to imagine. It is fantastic that people can be the individuals that they are, and also feel part of a kind and supportive community. There is always work to do, but schools are places where individuals are respected, and all members of the community are valued for who they are and what they can contribute. That doesn’t mean that things will ever be perfect, but, they have undoubtedly improved. The other reason that James Baldwin should be more widely known is that he was much more than the labels that others used to try and define him - African-American, gay. Those things were certainly true, but many of his disagreements were with people who shared those very characteristics. Life is far too complicated to think that simplistic labels can be used to describe large groups of people. Primarily, he was a uniquely talented individual and those are the qualities that our students will be celebrating during February 2024.

 

As a footnote, James Baldwin lived very happily in the South of France between 1970 until his death in 1987 and felt a level of acceptance and kindness in the community of Saint-Paul-de-Vence that he hadn’t encountered in America. Last year I had the opportunity to visit that area with the person that had recommended his writing back in 1991. That person is also the reason that I have lived and worked in Durham for so many years and they exemplify the positive influence that others can have by simply encouraging us to engage with the lives and stories of others. You don’t have to identify as LBGT+ to want all those that do to lead happy, fulfilled and successful lives. Making people aware of key figures in LGBT+ history and the challenges that they have faced is one way to make a positive contribution.

 

I would encourage all of our students to enter the competition and to attend the talk. And, of equal importance, to read as much and as widely as possible!

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Mr O’Sullivan

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