Take This Hammer: James Baldwin in San Francisco

James Baldwin is one of my heroes. The man was brillant. Not every child can say that he wrote the anthem for the City of New York, but Baldwin can (Notes of a Native Son). His book length essay, The Fire Next Time is brilliant and needs to be read by every black boy beginning at the age of 8 or 9 and then again at 13. That Baldwin, one of the architects of the Civil Rights Movement, visited San Francisco at a time when Birmingham was burning and blood running through the streets, the same red blood from black veins running through the streets of San Francisco in its black communities like Bayview Hunter's Point is significant on this day, Juneteenth 2012. Director, Caroline Bins has revisited that historic and great day in San Francisco with men who were there like Mr. Oscar James, Mr. Famious "Jackie" Bell, Mr. James Lockett, Mr. Tyrone Primus. James Baldwin in San Francisco: Hunter’s Point Then and Now based on the rarely seen, 1964 film, Take This Hammer (KQED).  This film is having a special screening at The Luggage Store Gallery in SF tonight at 7:30 p.m. We are joined by KATHERINE FAIRFAX WRIGHT - filmmaker; MALIKA ZOUHALI-WORRALL - filmmaker and LONGJONES - subject from the film, Call Me Kuchu, screening at Frameline this evening, June 19, 2012 at the Castro Theatre. depicts the last year in the life of a courageous, quick-witted and steadfast man whose wisdom and achievements were not fully recognized until after his death. While heartbreaking, the documentary traces a narrative that takes the viewer beyond the chronicle of victimization depicted in international news media: it tells the nuanced story of David and Kampala’s kuchus as they work to change their fate, and that of other kuchus across Africa.depicts the last year in the life of a courageous, quick-witted and steadfast man whose wisdom and achievements were not fully recognized until after his death.