Alice Walker

Alice Walker grew up in the Jim Crow U.S. South, though her parents struggled against the racist atmosphere and worked hard to save for her education. In 1961, Walker attended Spelman College in Atlanta on a full scholarship, later transferring to Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Walker published her first book of poetry while still in college and began publishing short stories and novels in the 1970s. Walker published her best-known book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple, in 1982. Besides being a writer of novels, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction books, Alice Walker is also an activist.