Alice Walkers Color Purple - Historical and Political Insight Essay

The strain Purple  Historical and Political Insight Alice Walkers writings were greatly influenced by the political and societal happenings almost her during the 1960s and 1970s. She not only wrote about events that were taking place, she participated in them as well. Her devoted time and energy into society is very evident in her works. The Color Purple, one of Walkers most prized novels, sends out a social message that concerns womens struggle for freedom in a society where they ar viewed as inferior to men. The events that happened during and previous to her writing of The Color Purple had a tremendous impact on the standpoint of the novel. The Civil Rights Movement was the largest influence on Walkers writings. In a ending handed down by the Supreme Court in 1954, the beginning of civil rights occurred. In the decision of Brown vs. The Board of Education, the court ruled that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal because they gave AfricanAmerican child ren a sense of inferiority and retarded their educational and mental development. That aspect began the civil rights uprising in the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbid businesses connected with interstate commerce to discriminate when choosing its employees. If these businesses did not conform to the act, they would lose bills that were granted to them from the government. Another act that was passed to secure the equality of blacks was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act, which was readopted and modified in 1970, 1975, and 1982, contained a plan to eliminate devices for voting discrimination and gave the division of Justice more power in enforcing equal rights. In another attempt for equal rights, the Equal Employment ... ...ally signed in 1973 and the Americans returned home followers the signage. However, all was not well in the US. Overall, the war was very unpopular to the public and it led to radicalism and polarization of the countrys youth. Many uni versities had demonstrations and a resistor against institutions was prevalent on college campuses. By 1974, the countrys economy was in recession, a direct response to the Vietnam War. The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War were the two elemental influences on the life and writings of Alice Walker. Walker is still alive today and continues to write about society issues that have affected her life. Civil Rights and Liberties-Civil Rights Movement. Encyclopedia Americana. 1996 ed. Jackson, Melinda L. Alice Walker-Womanist Writer. Online. Internet. 14 April 1998. Available http//wwwvms.utexas.edu/melindaj/alice.html