Since Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American woman (published in 1773), fearless black women have been writing with vigor and integrity. These five talented writers wrote about feminism, society, and discrimination, breaking barriers in the literary world and presenting their insight on what it is like to be black and a woman.
1. Zora Neale Hurston
A powerful element of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston is perhaps best known for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, based on a woman of mixed race who is trying to find herself, and her collection of short stories, Mules and Men, which is a collection of Hurston’s experiences on gathering research on African American folklore. Hurston attended Howard University where she took courses in Greek, Spanish, English and public speaking. Zora received an opportunity to attend Barnard College, Columbia University, where she was the only African American in the student body. She received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and attended graduate school at Columbia University.
After Zora’s death in 1960, she was buried under an unmarked grave and as her literary works were ordered to be burned. A friend of Hurston stopped the fire in time to save some important works of hers that now reside in the University of Florida libraries. Unfortunately, Zora struggled financially as her works did not get published as often as they should have. It was not until after he death, that she began to receive the well-deserved recognition and praise that she worked so tirelessly for.
“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” – Zora Neale Hurston
2. Alice Walker
Alice Walker, author of the renowned novel, The Color Purple, is a novelist, poet and activist. Walker’s parents saved up money for her to attend school at Spelman College in Georgia. Alice has stated that she grew up with oral tradition, from which she took inspiration for characters in her stories. Alice became involved in the civil rights movement in the South.
Her works all consisted of the reoccurring themes: rape, violence, sexism, racism, and feminism. To this day, Walker is active in politics, economical justice, feminist causes and environmental issues. In 2013, she traveled to Gaza and helped treat people who were injured in the Gaza War. She is credited with finding the unmarked remains of Zora Neale Hurston.
“Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.” – Alice Walker
3. Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is, perhaps, one of most known female writers to ever live. She was a renowned poet, author, singer, playwright, civil rights activist, dancer and professor. She has truly done it all! Angelou’s most famous work is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of Maya’s early life. Two other popular works written by her are Phenomenal Woman and The Heart of a Woman. Maya has written seven autobiographies and many books consisting of poetry. Most of her stories and poetry involve rape, family, and individuality.
When Maya was eight, her mother’s boyfriend raped her. She used reading to help overcome that hardship. As a young adult, Angelou was passionate about calypso dance. She moved around often and traveled through Europe for a while. Angelou mastered the languages of the countries that she lived in. It was not until 1959 that Maya Angelou moved to New York to work on her writing career. Maya read at the inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993. She was the first poet to do so since Robert Frost. Maya Angelou died on May 28, 2014 due to failed health. She is credited with being one of first black female writers to write herself as the main character. The legacy that Maya Angelou has left upon the literary world is immense.
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” – Maya Angelou
4. Toni Morrison
Growing up in Ohio in a working class family, Toni Morrison was no stranger to literature and African American folklore. Her parents surrounded Toni with their heritage at a young age. Toni Morrison was actually born “Chloe Wofford”. She became a Catholic when she was young and took the baptismal name, “Anthony,” the derivation of her name today, “Toni.” Many people would describe her literature as colorfully detailed with lively dialogue.
Morrison’s most known works are The Bluest Eye, a story about a black girl who longed to have blue eyes like a white girl, and Beloved, a novel about an escaped slave who flees to Ohio but is not emotionally or mentally free from her former life. Toni has won almost every literary award there is for writers. At 83, Morrison is still writing novels. Her eleventh novel, God Help the Child, is expected to be in stores April 2015.
“Women’s rights is not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair. It is not only about us; it is also about me and you. Just the two of us.” – Toni Morrison
5. Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez was a political and civil rights activist through her words. She published sixteen books altogether including, Homegirls and Handgrenades, I’ve Been a Woman and Wounded in the House of a Friend. Most of her novels center around abuse, equality, feminism and racial discrimination. Sanchez attended New York University and formed a writers’ workshop that included literary legends such as Amiri Baraka and Nikki Giovanni.
Sonia joined the Nation of Islam, a religious movement that aimed to improve the lives of African Americans. She later left the organization based on their views of women. Sonia traveled around the world, often to universities and schools to lecture and recite her works. Sonia also taught at Temple University in 1977 until her retirement in 1999. Philadelphia awarded her their first Poet Laureate in 2012.
”…I write to keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.” – Sonia Sanchez
These writers were the voice of black people and women. They shared their hardships and triumphs through novels and poetry. The literary world would be blind to this side of literature if it weren’t for these legends. As Black History Month is coming to close and Women’s History Month approaching, it is important to honor these five women who stand as pillars in both rich histories.
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