Alice Walker: An African American Author
Alice Malsenior Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in a neighboring community of Eatonton, Georgia to parents of Wille Lee Walker and Minnie Lou Tallulah Grant Walker. In honor of her maternal great-grandmother, Walker changed her middle name to Tallulah-Kate. She was born into a poor sharecropper family, and the youngest of eight children. Even though poor, her family was rich in perspective and kindness. Walker learned to value the beauty in nature from her parents and siblings. Her family also nourished walker’s artistic desires, which included music and painting along with writing. Walker was especially close to her mother, Minnie Lou Walker, whose was love of beauty and legendary gardener. Walker experienced many difficulties in her life, but she overcome her difficulties. Also, Walker pursued many interesting works in her life. Alice Walker is an African American author that my classmates and others would be interested in learning about.
First, Walker unforgettable childhood accident happened when she was eight years old. Walker older brother, Curtis, accidentally shot her in the eye with a BB gun, which developed her right eye blind and left her with a white scar. After her accident, Walker believed that she was ugly and became very ashamed of herself. Because of her noticeable scar in her right eye, she became an easy target for the other children in her school who teased her cruelly. Psychologically, Walker grew more focus on her feeling of sadness, betrayal, and alienation. Walker described herself as being a solitary person during this time.
Secondly, Walker had overcome a number of life difficulties. Several years after her childhood accident, at the age of fourteen, Walker brother provided her with encouragement and

resources to undergo eye surgery. After the eye healed, only a blue sphere was left where the white scar used to be. After her eye surgery, her self0confidence was restored and she began to speak up in classes and her grades improved significantly. Another Walker life difficulty was after the abortion in senior year at college. Walker slipped into a deep depression, just like the time when she lost her right eye. She wanted to commit suicide, but she comforted her feeling of pain and anxiety by writing poetry. Thirdly, Walker pursued many interesting works. Walker graduate as class valedictorian in 1961, and also crowned homecoming queen. After graduation, Walker became involved in the civil rights movement in Atlanta, Georgia. Walker transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in 1964 to become a writer. After graduated from Sarah Lawrence, Walker got a job in New York City Department of Welfare. One year later, Walker moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and worked for the Legal Defense Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1966, Walker met Melvyn Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer from New York City and married him in 1967. Two years later, they only child, Rebecca Grant, was born and their marriage ended in 1977. Walker has spoken for the women’s movement and also she was a teacher at various colleges and universities. In conclusion, Alice Walker was experienced unforgettable childhood accident, but she restored her self-confidence and she had overcome a number of life difficulties. Walker was known as a professional writer, but she was also talented in many of her interesting work. Today, Walker is still alive and she has lived for the past several decades in northern California. Alice

Walker is an African American author that my classmates and others would be interested in learning about.