Q&A with special guest, Trevor Baldwin, nephew of James Baldwin.

This screening is part of our Black Lens series.

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of his manuscript.

Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

Trevor Baldwin was born, raised and currently lives in New York City. His father Wilmer, brother of James Baldwin, taught guitar at Harlem School of the Arts and his mother Helen was a CUNY professor and the Executive Director of Minisink Townhouse and Camp. Surrounded by arts and infused with education as a cultural foundation, Trevor is an offspring of Harlem's rich heritage.

A graduate of The Fieldston School, Morehouse College and New York Film Academy, Trevor works in public relations. He is also a screenwriter and producer with multiple projects in development. As a writer, he’s contributed to various online publications including Gawker, Blavity, VIBE, Global Grind, NewsOne and the Huffington Post.

In 2014, for his uncle’s 90th anniversary, Trevor coordinated the street naming of "James Baldwin Place" on the Harlem block where Uncle Jimmy and all his siblings attended elementary school. The ceremony occurred shortly after the death of his Godmother, Dr. Maya Angelou, who had planned to be the keynote speaker at the event. He later began working with Dr. Angelou's estate on media-related properties such as the PBS documentary "Maya Angelou and Still I Rise."

Trevor played a key role in the Apollo Theater premiere of If Beale Street Could Talk and partnered with other Baldwin celebrations as a family ambassador. Working with the estates of two literary icons has made him a natural purveyor of legacy as their inspirational lives and contributions have become increasingly more relevant in today's society.

In honor of his uncle's centennial, Trevor formed a family committee to help usher global celebrations, establish a digital footprint and spearheaded initiatives with corporate and cultural institutions. Partnerships include the New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Google, The Ford Foundation, Fremantle and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. In conjunction with Penguin Random House, he executive produced the Baldwin 100 Podcast, a series examining the author’s work and personal life in discussion with luminary guests such as Eddie Glaude, Jr., Roxanne Gay and Billy Dee Williams. Future projects include guiding the Baldwin 101 initiative, a call to return to James Baldwin’s core works and share their continued resonance with the world, in 2025.

Trevor recently founded Baldwin United, a family-operated non-profit family Collective Action Fund created to promote their uncle's legacy through art, literacy and social justice. The organization officially launched at a Lincoln Center celebration on August 2, 2024— Uncle Jimmy’s 100th birthday.