1924 James Baldwin Born
1927 mother marries david baldwin
1930s baldwin's oppressive father shields him from
harsh, outside world. Baldwin reads Stowe and Dickens.
1940 Baldwin comes to terms with his poverty. becomes
member of pentecostal faith church in act of paternal
rebellion
1940s attends de witt clinton high school,
predominately white and jewish
1942 baldwin does not graduate with class but recieves
diploma. establishes lasting friendships with school
paper editors
1943 david baldwin dies. james moves to greenwich
1946 book review on Maxim Gorky published in nation.
writes sixty pages of unfinished novel "in my father's
house"
1948 leaves new york for paris. writes "everybody's
protest novel" and frees himself from racial
expectations
1951-53 finishes "In My Father's House" and retitles
as "Go Tell It on the Mountain"
Writes many books, plays articles. publishes
giovanni's room in 1956, a book about homosexuality,
to sum it up in small terms.
Continues publishing in 1960
1970 sees rise in black rights writings
1986 awarded legion of honor in france
1987 baldwin dies

main points i've covered between the two stories are there. hope that helps or is enough.

I want to stress that baldwin's telling the story in media res is similar to his entire artistic statement. It is as though untruths and misconceptions come back and "haunt" the narrator. baldwin's art was apparently about the racial lies that continue in American society.