Influential American writers

To commemorate Black History Month, we would like to honor two groundbreaking American authors who celebrate their birthdays this month: Toni Morrison and Alice Walker.

Toni Morrison was born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. Morrison has won nearly every book prize in existence, including a Nobel Prize in Literature and a Pulitzer Prize. She published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970. Her works include Song of Solomon and Beloved. She is a supporter of the arts and speaks out against censorship, particularly banned books.

Alice Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia, on February 9, 1944. Walker, a novelist and poet, worked as a social worker and participated in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Her novel, The Color Purple, won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize. Walker grew up in the racially divided South and attended segregated schools. She graduated Valedictorian of her high school, received a scholarship, and attended Spelman College in Atlanta. She later transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York City. Walker’s career as an essayist, poet, novelist, and lecturer has spanned over four decades. She considers herself an activist and a feminist.