The Color Purple Context

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Alice Walker's Early Years
Born 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia, to a sharecropping family with 7 siblings. Blinded in right eye from BB gun accident when 8 (self-conscious, shy, read and wrote poetry - thoughtful & studious).
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Alice Walker's Education
Graduated high school 1961 (valedictorian, prom queen), studied at Spelman College with state scholarship (all-black women's college). Became active in civil rights movement e.g. voter drives. Later went to Sarah Lawrence College NY. Visited Africa on a s
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Alice Walker's relationships and marriage
B.A. in 1965 -> marries white Jewish civil rights lawyer and they live in Mississippi 1967-74. Marriage viewed as illegal under Southern laws (Jim Crow - interracial marriages illegal). They experienced racial harassment. Actively involved in civil rights
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The Color Purple
Published 1982 - best seller, generated controversy over its negative portrayal of black men, and its lesbian relationship. Walker awarded National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize 1983. Adapted into film 1985 with Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldber
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Womanism
1983 - Walker publishes famous essay collection introducing concept of womanism as alternative African-American definition of feminism. She has continued to publish work related to struggles of black people, particularly women, and lives in racist, sexist
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Continuing Career
Internationally celebrated author, poet, and activist. Many other best sellers (Possessing the Secret of Joy - FGM 1992). Caused controversy 2018 over promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theorist. Refused to have Hebrew translation of TCP in 2012 (pro-Pal
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A Century of Expansion
1800 USA is a new nation, by 1900 is leading industrial nation with largest economy in the world. Abundant fertile land (food; cash crops - tobacco, cotton); natural resources (wood, oil, coal, ores); vast landmass and low occupancy even before westward e
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Immigrants & Settlers
>4 million inhabitants 1790 but by 1890 there was 40 million. Some immigrants literate and fairly wealthy, many others didn't speak English and couldn't read/write. Majority Protestant, Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox; others were Jewish refugees (East
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Live Long and Prosper
At beginning of 1800s, a high birth rate + rapidly growing population = labour for industry. Large pool of customers for industrial products; shortage of workers as industrial and agricultural expansion grew more than population. Wages rose (attracting na
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White Wealth and Innovation
Eli Whitney (cotton gin - expanding plantations), McCormick (grain reaper), Thomas Edison (lightbulb), J.P. Morgan (bank, financed largest industrial co. in the world), Rockefeller (oil magnate, controlled 90% of refining by 1879)
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African-American Perspective
Immigrant life better than that of black people in rural South. Millions were ex-slaves and classed as property: bought and sold indiscriminately, forced to work. Even after 1865 abolition blacks struggled to achieve equality. Although 1800s saw huge busi
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Black Success
Randolph (President of first African Insurance Company 1810, supported black people), Booker T. Washington (National ***** Business League, 1st successful black business association of 1900s), Madame C.J. Walker (1st black female millionaire - cosmetics)
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Schooling for Slaves
In rural South, literate slaves were highly regarded in their own community but very mistrusted by owners who feared they would persuade others to rebel. Laws were passed banning the teaching of slaves. Some church ministers did establish schools but it w
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Access to Learning
Prior to American Civil War (1861-65) and abolition, long irregular working hours prevented regular school attendance. White teachers often taught restricted range of subjects deemed 'suitable' for slave pupils. Despite restrictions many learned and wrote
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Black Education Milestones
1837 Institute for Colored Youth; 1856 Wilberforce University; 1881 Spelman College; 1881 Tuskegee Institute Alabama (practical college, B.T. Washington); 1944 United ***** College Fund; 1954 Supreme Court Brown v Board overturns school segregation; 1957
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Colonialism
Colonialism - acquiring full/partial political control over country, occupying with settlers and exploiting it economically.
Post-Colonialism - countries and inhabitants after independence. Ongoing issues of organisation, shortages and political infrastr
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Europe's Colonisation of America and Africa
1492-1784: N and S America colonised by Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, England, Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Germany & Russia.
1492-mid-1900s: Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain establish African colonies (e.g. GB had Nige
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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Trade not confined to white Euro colonial expansion/trade. 5-15th Centuries: West African kingdoms controlled Sahara routes linking Arab markets to Africa. Gold and salt main commodities but slaves were profitable (raid neighbour tribes - sell captives no
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Slavery in American South
Well-established agricultural tradition; settled white Euros made fortune from cash crops (tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton) grown on largescale plantations requiring big workforce. Workers imported as slaves from West African coast. Began 1619 until 1865 (4
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Whiteness
Invented term describing characteristics believed to be unique to white people; belief that whiteness is entitlement to be superior; determining factor for distribution of wealth/power/rights etc. Invented race, various ethnic groups. Single powerful coal
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Alice Walker and Civil Rights
Participated in 1963 March on Washington, involved in voter registration drives, used writing to speak out against racism.
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School segregation 1954
Widely accepted in 50s; south had legislature to prevent integration (separate but equal Plessy v Ferguson 1896). 1954 Brown v Board of Education of Topeka head in Supreme Court, segregation = unconstitutional.
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Emmet Till 1955
Brown v Board case = violent backlash of lynchings, burnings, beatings etc. Teenager accused of flirting with a white woman - kidnapped and killed. Guilty parties found not guilty by white all-male jury despite overwhelming eyewitness evidence.
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Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955
Rosa Parks arrested in Alabama for refusing to give up seat for white man; 50 black church and community leaders organised a boycott of public transport. 65% drop in company profits - supreme court rules bus segregation unconstitutional.
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Little Rock High School 1957
Admitted black students - on 1st day 9 attempt to enter school but prevented by mob of 1000 white protestors. 1k paratroopers + 10k National Guardsmen ordered by Eisenhower to escort students in.
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Sit-In Campaign (1960 onwards)
Black people forbidden from eating alongside white customers in restaurants. Greensboro - black students sit at a white-only lunch counter. Nonviolent protests over America by students. Supported by JFK. Endured months despite beating, fines and arrests.
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Freedom Rides 1961
1955 makes public transport segregation illegal but largely ignored in south. Volunteers (B+W) sit in incorrect seats in buses and toilets. Met with violence and arrests. JFK intervenes and threatens federal troops unless violence stops.
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James Meredith 1962
First black student at University of Mississippi. Riot breaks out and 2 killed. Graduated with degree in political science.
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Birmingham, Alabama 1963
Sit-in campaigns held in most severely segregated southern region. Protest marches met with policemen, dogs and firehoses. KKK bomb a church and kill 4 black girls. Riots and fires across city.
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March on Washington, 'I Have A Dream' Speech 1963
Public peaceful demonstration; 200k in city listen to MLK's speech. Walker attends.
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JFK Assassination 1963
22nd Nov, shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon Johnson sworn in on same day.
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Civil Right Act 1964
Black people couldn't be excluded from any public facilities.
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Selma March 1965
Selma to Montgomery - teargassed by state troopers, 50 injured, made to turn back. 2 more organised by MLK - leading to Voting Rights Act.
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Voting Rights Act 1965
Prohibited literacy tests and poll taxes on black citizens; barred many from constitutional rights. Registered black voter numbers rise in south.
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MLK Assassination 1968
Sniper while on a balcony in Memphis. Had led a march there with violent clashes and a protestor death. Violence had edged into civil rights movement - Black Panther Party members carried loaded weapons, mantra of black power.
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Black Women and Feminism
White middleclass women foregrounded in feminist literature predominantly written by white female authors. Black sexism and discrimination largely ignored. Experiences shaped by generations of suffering from slavery & segregation - many WOC didn't identif
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Alice Walker & Womanism
First used 1979. Womanist = woman (not girl), mature, can love other women/men, appreciates female emotions, culture and strength, loves arts, nature, spirituality. Affirms importance of relationship with men and stability of family life. Purple - analogy
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American Counterculture
Sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, the pill: cultural atmosphere changes in 60s, use of marijuana, LSD etc, public nudity, openness about sexuality, music.
Marriage in crisis: divorce more widespread; birth control meant sex for pleasure not family. Double standard
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Homosexual Civil Rights Movement
Not political; usually secret and expressed symbolically/heavily coded. By late 60s there were signs of change.
Stonewall Riots 1969 - police rad gay bar, sparking violent demonstrations promoting gay rights.
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Christian Patriarchy
God ordains family order - husband leads, wife submits, children obey. Men protect and provide, women care and do domestic stuff, submitting to male authority. Men lead the church.
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African Religious Beliefs - variety and fusion
Today, majority are Muslim or Christian. Many different spiritual practices exist. Belief in one God above host of lesser deities; ancestral spirits; sacrifice for divine protection; rites of passage from child to adult.
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The Slave Trade - Religion
Slaves took beliefs and practices with them (Supreme Creator, pantheon of lesser gods, natural/spiritual balance, chanting, dancing, music). Missionaries converted Africans to Christianity from 1300s so many brought over Christian beliefs too. Tried to ma
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North-South Divide
North - educated black people able to successfully integrate into white culture, similar evangelical worship patterns, strong abolitionist movement in all races.
South - isolated, white church insincere to blacks.
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American Civil War
Armed conflict between Union and Confederacy, initially to prevent southern expansion.
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The South
Agricultural, cotton and tobacco main economic strength. Relied on exports to Europe, rigid class structure based on Christian patriarchy. Plantation owners controlled economic, political and legal business in 'their' states. Slavery = cost-effective labo
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The North
Industrialised, social mobility, less rigid social divisions, entrepreneurism. Cosmopolitan, fast pace of life and change. Abolitionist groups. South feared the gov would try to impose northern values on the south.
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Civil War Origins
Kansas joins the Union 1861 as a slave free state; South Carolina secedes the Union 1860 (11 states set up Confederacy).
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Religion and Civil War
Both sides believed they had God's support and were fighting a holy war. White perspective - emancipation sacred duty; southern preachers said slavery was a sacred trust.
Black perspective - own preachers, God would punish slave owners, God on side of sl
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Emancipation 1863
Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln 1863 - freedom of slaves in 10 states still rebelling (3 out of 4 million legally free). Illegal to be denied vote/discriminated against. Still faced hostility and persecution.
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Reconstruction and Segregation
Reconstruction era in south up until 1877. White ideologies unchanged. Great Migration north and west but majority remained in southern states (white superiority, slave culture remembered and embraced).
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Jim Crow Laws
Public transport, shops, hotels, theatres and libraries segregated; no interracial marriage; education segregation; wage segregation; only jobs of low importance (cleaner, servant); segregated residential areas.
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Racial Violence and White Supremacy
KKK founded 1866 - focus for white resistance to Reconstruction. Increased in 1920s and 1960s. Justified itself through religion - Protestant Christian values, use of flaming cross to show reverence to Christ, use of prayer and hymns, hostility to Jews an
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Economy and African-Americans
Sharecroppers: ex-slaves reliant on ex-owners for employment. Rented farm space, supplies and tools.
Boll Weevil Cotton Collapse: 1910-20 boll weevil damages crops and sinks industry. Many black farmers unemployed.
WW1 and Worker Demand: northern factorie
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Great Migration
Better education, housing, and pay - millions relocated north 1916-70. Poor working conditions and living space competition + racism and prejudice - but in sphere of public life. Political activism, civic activity in north.
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Black Perspectives influencing Walker
W.E.B Du Bois; Jean Toomer; Langston Hughes; Margaret Walker; Lorraine Hansberry; Toni Morrison; Gloria Naylor.
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White Perspectives influencing Walker
Bronte sisters; Tolstoy; Robert Graves; Simone de Beauvoir; Doris Lessing
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Stylistic Influences
Epistolary Novel form - popular 16-1800s (Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Aphra Behn)
Slave Narratives - 1830s-60s. Gain sympathy of white reader and encourage abolitionism. Depictions of cruelty, abuse, simple and straightforward (Frederick Douglass' autobiog
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Spielberg's 'The Color Purple' 1985
Nominated for 11 Academy Awards but won none (controversy over Hollywood racism).
Negative: black men as perpetuating slavery and abuse (**** and separation from children common in slavery); Sofia becomes stereotypical black victim; repressed lesbianism.
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The Color Purple Musical 2005
Broadway 2005-2008, over 900 performances. Toured extensively in USA, successful debut in London 2013.
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Response to Book and Adaptations
Black men - biased and inaccurate portrayal (accusations of class traitory
and lying)
Feminists - how Celie and Shug surrender to 'American Dream' by accepting capitalist and hetero values when establishing business venture
Benevolent critics - emancipat
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Plantation Films
In early 1900s Hollywood portrayed South as land of loyal content slaves. Birth of a Nation 1915 causes controversy (black males = unintelligent sex predators) and blackface. KKK heroic force. Woodrow Wilson watches private viewing in White House. Lost Ca
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Blaxploitation and Crossover Films
Late 1970s - films to appeal to urban black audiences; set in ghettos; crime, drugs, prostitutes and pimps; white characters were crackers and played corrupt policemen or politicians. Meant to signify black empowerment but perpetuated white stereotypes
Cr
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Graduated high school 1961 (valedictorian, prom queen), studied at Spelman College with state scholarship (all-black women's college). Became active in civil rights movement e.g. voter drives. Later went to Sarah Lawrence College NY. Visited Africa on a s

Back

Alice Walker's Education

Card 3

Front

B.A. in 1965 -> marries white Jewish civil rights lawyer and they live in Mississippi 1967-74. Marriage viewed as illegal under Southern laws (Jim Crow - interracial marriages illegal). They experienced racial harassment. Actively involved in civil rights

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Published 1982 - best seller, generated controversy over its negative portrayal of black men, and its lesbian relationship. Walker awarded National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize 1983. Adapted into film 1985 with Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldber

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

1983 - Walker publishes famous essay collection introducing concept of womanism as alternative African-American definition of feminism. She has continued to publish work related to struggles of black people, particularly women, and lives in racist, sexist

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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