Alice Walker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alice Walker
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Walker in 2007
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| Born | Alice Malsenior Walker February 9, 1944 Eatonton, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Education | Spelman College Sarah Lawrence College (BA) |
| Period | 1968–present |
| Genre | African-American literature |
| Notable works | The Color Purple |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1983) National Book Award (1983) |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Robert L. Allen Tracy Chapman |
| Children | Rebecca Walker |
Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is a famous American writer and activist. She writes novels, short stories, and poems. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Color Purple.
Walker has published many books throughout her career. She is also known for her work as an activist. She was part of the Civil Rights Movement and has spoken out for the rights of women of color. She created the term "womanism" to describe a type of feminism that focuses on the experiences of Black women.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Alice Malsenior Walker was born in the small farming town of Eatonton, Georgia. Her parents, Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Tallulah Grant, were sharecroppers. This meant they farmed land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crops. Her mother also worked as a seamstress to earn extra money. Alice was the youngest of eight children.
When she was eight years old, one of her brothers accidentally shot her in the right eye with a BB gun. Her family didn't have a car, so they couldn't get to a doctor right away. This caused her to become permanently blind in that eye. After her injury, Walker began to spend more time reading and writing.
During this time, schools in her town were segregated, meaning Black and white students had to go to different schools. Walker attended Butler Baker High School, the only high school for Black students. She was the valedictorian, the student with the highest grades in her graduating class.
She received a scholarship to attend Spelman College in 1961. Later, she transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she graduated in 1965. A difficult personal experience during her senior year inspired her to write her first book of poetry, Once.
Writing Career
After college, Walker worked for the NAACP, a civil rights organization, in Mississippi. She also taught Black history and became a writer-in-residence at several colleges. In 1970, she published her first novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland.
In 1973, Walker and another scholar found the unmarked grave of Zora Neale Hurston, a writer and anthropologist she admired. They placed a gravestone on it that read, "A Genius of the South." Walker's work helped bring new attention to Hurston's important books.
The Color Purple
In 1982, Walker published her most famous book, The Color Purple. The novel tells the story of a young Black woman named Celie. Celie faces many hardships in her life, including racism and mistreatment within her own community. The book became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize.
The story was so popular that it was made into a movie in 1985, directed by Steven Spielberg. It was also turned into a hit Broadway musical.
Other Works
Walker has written many other books. Her novels often explore the lives and struggles of Black people, especially women. In 2000, she published The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart, a collection of stories based on her own life. It included stories about her marriage to Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal, a civil rights lawyer. They were an interracial couple, which was very rare and difficult in the South at the time. They had one daughter, Rebecca Walker, who is also a writer.
In 2007, Walker donated her papers, including drafts of her novels and letters, to Emory University. This collection gives people a special look into her life and writing process.
Activism and Important Causes
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Alice Walker is known not only for her writing but also for her strong beliefs and activism.
Civil Rights
As a college student, Walker met Martin Luther King Jr.. He inspired her to join the Civil Rights Movement. She participated in the famous 1963 March on Washington and helped register Black citizens to vote in Georgia and Mississippi. She has also been involved in anti-war protests.
Womanism
Walker felt that the feminist movement did not always focus on the unique challenges faced by women of color. In 1983, she introduced the term womanism to describe "a Black feminist or feminist of color." Womanism looks at issues of race, gender, and class together. This idea has been influential in movements like Black Lives Matter.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Walker has taken a strong position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which encourages people and groups to put pressure on Israel to change its policies toward Palestinians. As part of her protest, she has refused to allow The Color Purple to be published in Hebrew in Israel.
Other Causes
Walker has also spoken out in support of people like Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange, who released secret government information. She is a strong supporter of animal rights and often writes about the connection between humans and animals. Walker is also a pacifist, which means she believes in solving problems without violence.
Personal Life
In 1965, Walker met Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer. They married in 1967 and moved to Mississippi. They were the first legally married interracial couple in the state. They had a daughter, Rebecca, in 1969 and divorced in 1976.
In the mid-1990s, Walker was in a romantic relationship with singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman.
Walker's spirituality is an important part of her life and has influenced her writing. She has said that many of her stories have connections to her own life experiences.
Awards and Honors
Alice Walker has received many awards for her work, including:
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1983) for The Color Purple
- National Book Award for Fiction (1983) for The Color Purple
- Langston Hughes Medal (1988)
- Induction into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame (2001)
- Induction into the California Hall of Fame (2006)
- The LennonOno Grant for Peace (2010)
Selected Works
Novels and Short Story Collections
Poetry Collections
Non-fiction Books
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See also
In Spanish: Alice Walker para niños
- List of animal rights advocates
