English: Biography: A writer, lecturer, and poet, Margaret Walker Alexander is a professor of English at Jackson State University and director of its Institute for the Study of History, Life and Culture of Black People. She was born on the campus of Central Alabama Institute in Birmingham, where her father, the Rev. Sigismund Walker, taught. Her mother, Marion Dozier Walker, was a musician and church school teacher. Miss Walker graduated from Northwestern University, and earned an M.A. from the Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and later a Ph.D., also from Iowa. Dr. Alexander taught English at several colleges before joining the faculty at Jackson State College, where she became a full professor in 1965. She is the author of Jubilee, The Daemonic Genius of Richard Wright, and several volumes of verse including Prophets for A New Day, and October Journey. Her first volume of poetry, For My People, won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award in 1942. By speaking publicly and organizing exhibits and conferences, Dr. Alexander has sought throughout her career to broaden society's awareness of Black culture.

Description: The Black Women Oral History Project interviewed 72 African American women between 1976 and 1981. With support from the Schlesinger Library, the project recorded a cross section of women who had made significant contributions to American society during the first half of the 20th century. Photograph taken by Judith Sedwick
Repository: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.
Collection: Black Women Oral History Project
Research Guide: http://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger_bwohp

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