Black feminist leader: Think, act for yourself

Rebecca Walker, daughter of 'The Color Purple' author Alice Walker, addresses 100

 by Joseph Hermiz
 published on Thursday, March 20, 2008

Photo Courtesy of Shaylin White

BEING HERSELF: Rebecca Walker, daughter of “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker and a noted author herself, is one of Time magazine’s most 50 influential Americans under 40.

Rebecca Walker, a feminist and renowned writer, delivered a speech Wednesday night to more than 100 students and faculty at the West Campus.

One of the reasons Walker spoke at ASU was to promote her new memoir, "Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence," which was published in March 2007.

Honored by Time magazine as one of the 50 most influential American leaders under 40, Walker has been recognized for her transformative views on race, gender and sexuality.

Walker, who is black, was born and partially raised in Bronx, N.Y., with her father and in San Francisco with her mother, Alice Walker, who is the author of "The Color Purple."

Walker said she has continuously encouraged individuals to not act within an expected social construct, and to rather be, think and act for who they see themselves to be.

Ari Boers, an astrophysics junior, and Shauna Alexander, a psychology junior, were both at the event.

"Her father is Jewish, and my father is Jewish, and she is bisexual, and I am a lesbian," Boers said. "So, I want to hear what message she has for someone like me. She is a voice that I can listen to until I have a voice of my own."

Alexander said she was interested in hearing Walker speak because she feels like she can relate to her.

"I can relate to Rebecca Walker because I have also dealt with being criticized for not acting my race," Alexander said. "I am a black woman who is continuously rejected by others because of my race — for acting too white.

"For me, as a woman, Ms. Walker allows me to hear a voice of strength and experience that helps me to know that I am not alone," Alexander added.

Rebecca is also an acclaimed author of the original Third Wave primer "To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism," the best selling post-civil rights memoir "Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self."

Walker is best known for her role as the founder of the movement Third Wave Feminism and as co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works through grant-making, leadership development, and philanthropic advocacy to support young women, emphasizing a mobilization toward gender, racial, economic, and social justice.

Walker's topic Wednesday was "Today, is the tomorrow that was promised to you yesterday." In her speech, she discussed how individuals must understand "how interconnected we are, and that what we say here will affect all of the thousands and even millions that are living out there today."

Walker also talked about how American culture is an interesting arena because in one moment we can study an individual such as Barack Obama and in the next moment debate issues that arise from a program such as "The Hills."

"Our culture is growing so extreme, and we are to believe that if we are to go with it, it will eventually correct itself," Walker said in her speech. "It will not."

Reach the reporter at: joseph.hermiz@asu.edu.