[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 8, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1309-S1310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH: TRIBUTE TO ALICE WALKER

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, 20 years ago, my friends and 
colleagues Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Senator Orrin Hatch 
from Utah joined to create a National Women's History Week. Since that 
time, the commemoration has expanded into an entire month of 
celebration and recognition of the many contributions and 
accomplishments of American women. I am proud to use this occasion to 
highlight the many accomplishments of one of Georgia's own, author and 
teacher Alice Walker.
  Alice Walker has become one of the leading voices among African-
American writers. She has published poetry, novels, short stories, 
essays, and criticism, the most famous probably being ``The Color 
Purple'', for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. Her 
portrayal of the struggle of African-Americans throughout history, 
especially the experiences of black women in the American South, has 
earned her praise around the world. Ms. Walker's insightful and 
riveting portraits of poor, rural life display human resourcefulness, 
strength and endurance in confronting oppression.
  Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia, the 
eighth and last child of Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker, who 
were sharecroppers. When she was eight years old, she lost sight in one 
eye during an accident with one of her brothers' BB guns. This incident 
proved to be a turning point in Walker's life. Walker has said that it 
was from this point that she ``really began to see people and things, 
really to notice relationships and to learn to be patient enough to see 
how they turned out * * *''
  In high school, Alice Walker was valedictorian of her class. That 
achievement, coupled with a ``rehabilitation scholarship,'' made it 
possible for her to go to Spelman College, a historically black women's 
college in Atlanta, Georgia. After spending two years at Spelman, she 
transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York, traveling to Africa 
as an exchange student during her junior year. She received her 
bachelor of arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1965.
  After graduation, Alice Walker spent the summer in Liberty County, 
Georgia where she helped to draw attention to the plight of poor people 
in South Georgia. She went door to door registering voters in the 
African-American community. Her work with the neediest citizens in the 
state helped her to see the debilitating impact of poverty on the 
relationships between men and women in the community. She moved to New 
York City shortly thereafter where she worked for the city's welfare 
department. It was then that she was awarded her first writing grant in 
1966.
  Ms. Walker had originally wanted to go to Africa to write, but 
decided against it and instead traveled to Tougaloo, Mississippi. It 
was there where she met her future husband, civil rights attorney 
Melvyn Leventhal. He was supportive of her writing and admired her love 
for nature. They married in 1967 and became the first legally married 
interracial couple in the state of Mississippi. While her husband 
fought school desegregation in the courts, Alice worked as a history 
consultant for the Friends of the Children, Mississippi's Head Start 
Program.
  Since there was still a great deal of racial tension in the state, 
and because her husband was working adamantly in the courts to 
dismantle the laws barring desegregation, animosity against the couple 
was strong. While the couple lived in Mississippi, Alice and her 
husband slept with a gun under their bed at night for protection. Their 
only daughter, Rebecca, was born in 1969.

[[Page S1310]]

  Alice Walker became active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 
1960's, and remains an involved and vocal activist for many causes 
today. She has spoken out in support for the women's equality movement, 
has been involved in South Africa's anti-apartheid campaign, and has 
worked toward global nuclear arms reduction. One of her most pronounced 
involvements has been her tireless work against female genital 
mutilation, the gruesome practice of female circumcision that remains 
prevalent in many African societies.
  Among her numerous awards and honors for her writing are the Lillian 
Smith Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rosenthal 
Award from the National Institute of Arts & Letters, a nomination for 
the National Book Award, a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, a Merrill 
Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Front Page Award for Best 
Magazine Criticism from the Newswoman's Club of New York. She has also 
received the Townsend Prize and a Lyndhurst Prize.
  In 1984, Ms. Walker started her own publishing company, Wild Trees 
Press. She has authored more than 20 books over the years. Divorced 
from her husband, she currently resides in Northern California with her 
dog, Marley where she continues to write. Her most recent book, ``By 
the Light of My Father's Smile'', was released in 1998. I am honored to 
recognize this remarkable woman, a daughter of Georgia and mother of 
the fight for equality.

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