Everyone encounters their own challenges that can be life changing. The 1960’s brought hardships to both African American men and women. Growing up in this time period as an African American woman only made Alice Walker a stronger person. Alice Walker, an award winning author, used her life experiences and historical background as a springboard into creative writing which lead to a successful writing career.
February 9, 1944 marks the day that Alice Walker was born in Eaton, Georgia. Living in a rural farming town, Walker’s parents Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Tallulah Grant worked as sharecroppers. Sharecropping is when a land owner allows others to live on a piece of their land in return for farming labor, such as crop production. Walker has much respect for her parents, especially her mom whom she has a close relationship with. Walker also has a special place in her heart for her father as well, who she says taught her the importance of telling the truth. Her mother also worked as a maid to support their family of ten.
Growing up with eight siblings made up for an eventful childhood with both good and bad memories. One of Walker’s brothers accidentally shot her in the eye with a bb gun in 1952. The incident left Walker feeling insecure from the whitish scar that was left on her eye due to left over scar tissue. At the time Walker did not have any transportation to see a doctor, being part of the reason why a permanent mark had been left on her eye. Not seeking medical attention also caused partial vision loss, at fourteen the problem was fixed when Walker finally had surgery on her right eye. At just eight years old, Walker coped with this experience through writing.
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Enrolling in school at four years old gave Walker a jump start to becoming very intelligent. She began writing in her free time at just seven years old. Walker was loved by many throughout her high school career, being voted as prom queen her senior year. Although Walker was social, she spent her time in high school focusing on academics and her personal writings. She claims that she owes everything to her parents who did everything they could to give her the opportunity of having an education. Graduating high school in 1962 was a huge milestone since she received the honor of being the valedictorian of her class.
After highschool Walker earned a scholarship to Spelman College Atlanta, which is known as the first black women’s college in the U.S. There she studied influential radical historians, including Howard Zinn and Staughton Lynd. From there she transferred to Sarah Lawrence college in New York to follow her dreams of becoming a writer. New York was where she began writing poems, publishing several in a college journal. Walker was inspired by her mentors Jane Cooper and Muriel Rukeyser during her time in New York to pursue her writing career.
