“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” ~Gloria Steinem International Women’s Day commemorates the movement for women’s rights, […]
bell hooks was born Gloria Jean Watkins on September 25, 1952. The town of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where she and her five siblings grew up and went to school, was segregated, and her experiences in this community helped shape the commitment […]
Toni Morrison is among the most acclaimed African American authors in U.S. history. In 1993, she became the first African American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. She also received a 1988 Pulitzer Prize for her novel […]
~from intern Joyce Bohling Recently I shared a story here on the blog—“What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?”—exploring career options for English majors. For that post, I interviewed Career Education Manager for the College of Liberal Arts, Katie […]
Author, civil rights activist, and women’s rights activist Alice Walker was born in Putnam County, Georgia in 1944. Born into a family of sharecroppers, she was the youngest of eight children. She grew up surrounded by oral tradition, hearing stories […]
Audre Lorde was a black writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, teacher, and civil rights activist, who described herself as a “lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Her poems and prose largely dealt with issues related to civil rights, feminism, and the exploration of […]
~from intern Joyce Bohling Often, when I tell people I’m an English major, I’m met with everything from genuine curiosity to outright dismay about my job prospects. In these conversations, I’m often reminded of the opening line from one of […]
Today’s featured author is a bit of a departure. Up to now, we’ve been featuring historical figures. Today, we are featuring a modern day historian. Ibram X. Kendi is a New York Times best-selling author and award-winning historian at the University […]
Taken from Africa when she was only about seven years old, Phillis Wheatley was a slave. She was also the first published African-American female and one of the best-known poets of her time. The family who owned her taught her to read […]
Our current president didn’t make the traditional official proclamation designating February as Black History Month yesterday, but he did make a statement. Addressing a small group of African American aides and supporters to kick off Black History Month, he mentioned […]