0:00:06 11 sec
Procedure
Staff calls hearing to order
Council staff opens the hearing of the Committee on Civil and Human Rights and confirms the chair is ready to begin.
New York City Council
Committee on Civil and Human Rights
Declaring August 2 annually as James Baldwin Day in the City of New York
Aug 13, 2026 · 10:30 AM · 5 min 10 sec
Hearing Vote
Meeting chapters
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
0:00:17 34 sec
Remarks
Chair Nurse introduces Resolution 218 for James Baldwin Day
Chair Sandy Nurse introduces Resolution 218, sponsored by Councilmember Crystal Hudson, which would designate August 2nd annually as James Baldwin Day in New York City to honor his legacy as an essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, and civil rights activist.
0:00:51 13 sec
Remarks
Nurse on Baldwin's birth and early life in Harlem
Chair Nurse recounts that James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem on August 2, 1924, and describes how he sought out books at the public library and began writing poems, short stories, and plays at an early age.
0:01:04 12 sec
Remarks
Nurse on Baldwin's published works and essays
Chair Nurse describes Baldwin's early publishing career, including his famous works Notes of a Native Son, Nobody Knows My Name, and The Fire Next Time, written as the civil rights movement was taking shape.
0:01:16 18 sec
Remarks
Nurse on Baldwin's themes and national influence
Chair Nurse discusses how Baldwin's works covered literature, film, personal identity, sexuality, and race relations, and how his powerful words led to invitations to speak and teach at college campuses and civil rights gatherings worldwide.
0:01:34 22 sec
Remarks
Nurse on Baldwin's request to return papers to the public library
Chair Nurse shares that at the end of his life, Baldwin asked that his papers and works be returned to the public library on 135th Street, now the Countee Cullen Library, where he spent much of his childhood reading.
0:01:56 12 sec
Remarks
Hudson honors Baldwin as a transformative New Yorker
Councilmember Crystal Hudson speaks about James Baldwin as a New Yorker whose words changed how the country understood itself, born in Harlem 102 years ago and never stopping his call for America to live up to its promises of freedom.
0:02:07 25 sec
Remarks
Hudson on Baldwin's writing about race, sexuality, and belonging
Councilmember Hudson describes Baldwin's extraordinary honesty in writing about race, sexuality, love, faith, and what it means to find your place in a country that tells you that you do not belong.
0:02:33 24 sec
Remarks
Hudson on Baldwin as a black gay man and truth as resistance
Councilmember Hudson discusses Baldwin's refusal to make himself smaller as a black gay man, his understanding that telling uncomfortable truths is an act of resistance, and quotes his famous line about facing truth before change is possible.
0:02:57 37 sec
Remarks
Hudson on Baldwin's revolutionary legacy and the case for James Baldwin Day
Councilmember Hudson argues that establishing August 2nd as James Baldwin Day gives New York City the opportunity to honor one of its most powerful voices and ensure his life, work, and resistance continue to inspire future generations.
0:03:33 30 sec
Remarks
Nurse on Baldwin's civil rights advocacy alongside movement leaders
Chair Nurse adds that during the civil rights movement, Baldwin advocated for racial equity and universal human dignity alongside figures including Medgar Evers, Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., describing his work as bearing witness to the truth.
0:04:03 20 sec
Remarks
Nurse on significance of the day designation and thanks committee staff
Chair Nurse states that designating a day is fitting to commemorate Baldwin's life and legacy, thanks the committee staff for preparing the resolution and vote, and asks the clerk to call the roll.
0:04:23 36 sec
ROLL CALL
Roll call vote on Resolution 218
Committee Clerk William Martin conducts the roll call vote on Resolution 218. Chair Nurse, Councilmembers Feliz, Abreu, and Stevens vote aye. Councilmember Stevens notes she will shout out James Baldwin at the upcoming inaugural Black Pride Ball in the Bronx and thanks her deputy chief Greer.
0:04:59 7 sec
VOTE OUTCOME
Resolution 218 approved by committee 5-0
Clerk William Martin announces the resolution has been approved by a vote of five in the affirmative, zero in the negative, with no abstentions.
0:05:06 4 sec
Procedure
Chair Nurse closes the hearing
Chair Nurse thanks the clerk and committee and adjourns the hearing.