To Hell with Dying

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker was born in 1944 in Georgia, United States, to Minnie Walker, a maid, and Willie Walker, a sharecropper. The youngest of eight children, Walker was a gifted student and was awarded numerous scholarships to continue her education, successfully graduating with a bachelor of arts from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Walker’s work is regarded as staple writing in African American literature. Her experiences growing up part of a poor African American farming family living through segregation are reflected in her works, such as The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970), In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women (1973) and The Color Purple (1982).

Themes that go on to define her work and contribution to literature and wider social thought are present in her first published short story, “To Hell with Dying” (1968). The story is set in the American South, and Mr. Sweet’s residence on a cotton farm, unattained ambitions, lost love, and depression within a tight-knit community are reminiscent of segregation, surviving the wake of slavery.

Walker’s most famous novel, The Color Purple, earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1982, making her the first African American woman to win the prestigious award. The critique of gender roles and archetypes of the vulnerable “feminine” feature heavily in her work. This is seen in Mr. Sweet’s softness in comparison to the abruptness of the narrator’s father in “To Hell with Dying.” The term “womanism” was coined by Alice Walker in her short story “Coming Apart” (1979) to identify the intersection of racist and sexist oppression. Many of the issues shared by African Americans particularly were excluded from mainstream feminist thinking, such as the importance of religion, maternity, including the gendered injustices of segregation. Her works have consistently explored these ideas, and Walker is considered one of Black feminism’s foundational writers.

In the 21st century, Walker caused controversy due to her words of support for antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Icke, regarding the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and J. K. Rowling, regarding her transphobic rhetoric. In the former issue, while Walker did not explain her feelings for Icke’s ideas in depth, she was clear that her negative feelings were directed at Israel, not Jewish people, due to their treatment of Palestinians, which she described as “demonic.” In the latter issue, Walker felt that widespread criticisms of Rowling’s well-documented antisemitic and transphobic ideas equated to a “witch hunt” and that gender-neutral language from parents was contributing to a rise in children identifying as transgender. Though she has avoided pressure to identify with specific labels, Walker is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and has had relationships with women and men.

Despite these controversies, many have pushed for Walker to be held accountable for or challenged on her words instead of being outright “cancelled,” or removed from public and academic discussion, due to her strong cultural contributions. Walker continues to publish and attend conferences defending and advocating for human rights across the world. Her passion for human rights and activism for marginalized groups is demonstrated throughout her work.