Hey, I'll Sam Sanders here.

Today on It's Been a Minute, we are going to bring you

a very special episode from our friends over at ThruLine,

another NPR podcast that you should be listening to.

So ever since George Floyd was killed in May,

ever since the weeks and months of protests that followed,

a whole lot of people have been realizing

that they don't know nearly enough

about America's history of racism.

So I'm sure you've seen in the last few months

a bunch of created lists of books began to pop up online.

For folks to read, to learn stuff,

books themed around Black Lives Matter or Black Literature

or how to be anti-racist.

And there's one name that you'll find

on most of those lists.

James Baldwin, a writer, a thinker, an American icon.

James Baldwin's novels and essays dig deep into the heart

of what it was and what it is to be a gay black man in America.

And they're also about the culture and systems

that sustain racism in this country.

So this episode is all about James Baldwin,

...