Google Honors James Baldwin with Doodle on Start of Black History Month

Google is honoring James Baldwin with one of its signature Google Doodles, releasing the image on Thursday, the start of Black History Month.

The drawing was created by New York City-based artist Joe Key, who depicts the civil-rights activist in a purple shirt and sitting at a desk while writing. The Google logo is also in a purple checker-patterned design.

"With the work I create, I am trying to manifest environments and community structures imbued with truth, pride and love – tenets that I think are exemplified by Baldwin's texts and life," Key told Google in an interview on its website. He added that he was "inspired by the numerous photos and portraits of James Baldwin working and working in his home office."

"I was imagining James Baldwin writing 'Giovanni's Room' (one of my favorites) or 'The Fire Next Time' in his home office or kitchen table," Key adds. "My work is specifically on four themes: Blackness, Queerness, Family and Southernness."

Born in 1924 in New York City, Baldwin was a renowned American novelist, playwright, social critic and much more. Being both Black and gay, he often reckoned with race, sexuality, and class in the U.S. His most well-known works include his first novel "Go Tell it on the Mountain" from 1953 as well as "If Beale Street Could Talk" and his collection of essays, "Notes of a Native Son."

In 2016, his unfinished manuscript "Remember This House" was adapted and expanded into the film "I Am Not Your Negro," which earned a Best Documentary Feature nomination at the 89th Academy Awards. Additionally, "If Beale Street Could Talk" was adapted into a film by Barry Jenkins in 2018 and went on to win an Oscar.