On This Day In Alabama History: African-American Author, Poet Margaret Walker Was Born

By Graydon Rust
Alabama 200

July 7, 1915

African-American author and poet Margaret Walker was born in Birmingham. Walker often used her experiences growing up in the South during the Jim Crow and civil rights eras to shape her work and become an influential figure in African-American literature. She is best known for her 1942 poetry collection “For My People” and her 1966 epic novel “Jubilee” which is based on her great-grandmother’s life during slavery. Walker taught at Jackson State University for 30 years and founded the school’s Institute for the Study of the History, Life and Culture of Black People – now known as the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center.

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