Alice Walker - 1944

Eatonton

By LaVonda Williams
Georgia Perimeter College

Read another essay on Alice Walker by California student Jennifer Naters.

This incredibly gifted woman is one of the nation's foremost writers (fiction or non-fiction).  Her novels, essays, short stories, and poems are insightful, though-provoking depictions of Black culture told from an African-American woman's perspective.  The novel, The Color Purple is probably her best-known work.  It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1983.  In 1985, director Steven Spielberg directed the movie adaptation of the novel.

In addition to being a talented writer, Ms. Walker has also been an activist for more than 30 years; she is passionately committed to numerous causes: environmentalism, the anti-nuclear movement, civil rights, and the women's movement, to name a few.  Her generosity and compassion is inspiring to others. Alice Walker's achievements prove that although someone may come from a humble background, he or she can make a difference in the lives of others.

Using a portion of the proceeds from the premiere of The Color Purple, Ruth Walker Hood established The Color Purple Foundation as a tribute to her sister.  Established in 1986, the foundation was originally created to fund scholarships for disadvantaged youth in middle Georgia.  However, The Color Purple Foundation now provides summer enrichment programs to inner-city youth, grants, scholarships, and humanitarian aid to anyone in need.  The Color Purple Ball, held annually in Eatonton, generates additional funding. 

This essay was submitted by a student of Ted Wadley, a teacher at Georgia Perimeter College.