Editing Alice Walker (section)

==Activism==
[[File:Ms. magazine Cover - Fall 2009(1).jpg|thumbnail|Walker (left) and [[Gloria Steinem]] on the Fall 2009 cover of ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'' magazine]]

=== Civil rights ===

Walker met [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] when she was a student at [[Spelman College]] in the early 1960s. She credits King for her decision to return to the [[American South]] as an activist in the [[Civil Rights Movement]]. She took part in the [[1963 March on Washington]] with hundreds of thousands of people. Later, she volunteered to register Black voters in Georgia and Mississippi.<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2006/11/17/inner_light_in_a_time_of Walker Interview transcript and audio file on "Inner Light in A time of darkness"], ''Democracy Now!'', November 17, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/20/pulitzer_prize_winning_writer_alice_waters "Pulitzer-Winning Writer Alice Walker & Civil Rights Leader Bob Moses Reflect on an Obama Presidency"], ''Democracy Now!'' video on the African-American vote, January 20, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2010.</ref>

On March 8, 2003, [[International Women's Day]], on the eve of the [[Iraq War]], Walker was arrested with 26 others, including fellow authors [[Maxine Hong Kingston]] and [[Terry Tempest Williams]], at a protest outside the [[White House]], for crossing a police line during an anti-war rally. Walker wrote about the experience in her essay "We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For".<ref>{{cite press release|date=January 5, 2006 |url=http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=707 |title=Global Women Launch Campaign to End Iraq War |access-date=February 12, 2010 |publisher=CodePink: Women for Peace |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409122421/http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=707 |archive-date=April 9, 2010 }}</ref>

=== Womanism ===

Walker's specific brand of [[feminism]] included advocacy on behalf of women of color. In 1983, Walker coined the term ''[[Womanism|womanist]]'' in her collection ''[[In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens]]'', to mean "a Black feminist or feminist of color". The term was made to unite women of color and the feminist movement at "the intersection of race, class, and gender oppression".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Deeper shades of purple : womanism in religion and society|date=2006|publisher=New York University Press|others=Floyd-Thomas, Stacey M., 1969–|isbn=978-0814727522|location=New York|oclc=64688636}}</ref> Walker states that "'Womanism' gives us a word of our own".<ref>Wilma Mankiller and others, "Womanism". ''The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History''. December 1, 1998. SIRS Issue Researcher. Indian Hills Library, Oakland, NJ. January 9, 2013,<!--<http://sirs.com>--> p. 1.</ref> because it is a discourse of Black women and the issues they confront in society. Womanism as a movement came into fruition in 1985 at the [[American Academy of Religion]] and the [[Society of Biblical Literature]] to address Black women's concerns from their own intellectual, physical, and spiritual perspectives."<ref name=":0" /> Today, her womanist ideology still persists within several movements including the [[Black Lives Matter]] Movement that was formed by Black women in response to overwhelming police brutality against Black males. The philosophy of womanism also served as the fundamental basis for the [[MeToo movement|#MeToo]] Movement in which women publicly expressed their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Carmel |title=A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States |url=https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/womanist#:~:text=The%20term%20'womanist'%20was%20coined,women,%20men,%20and%20families. |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=library.law.howard.edu |language=en}}</ref>

=== Feminist advocacy ===
Walker's idea of feminist advocacy emerged in her work, ''[[In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens]]'', specifically in the essay, ''[[In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens#:~:text="If the Present Looks Like,and darker skinned black women.|If the Present Looked Like the Past, what would the future Look Like?]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Alice |title=If the Present Looks Like the Past |date=1966}}</ref> In her piece, she reflects on the modern injustices and historical oppression of the feminist movement. She also touches upon the need for compassion, empathy and awareness on behalf of Black women to overcome the past atrocities such as slavery and colonialism. In the end, the essay provides both a critique on the Black feminist movement and a call to action for readers to liberate themselves from discrimination.

=== Israeli–Palestinian conflict ===

Walker is a judge member of the [[Russell Tribunal#Tribunal members|Russell Tribunal on Palestine]], and she also supports the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] campaign against Israel.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21577393-campaign-boycott-israel-threatens-spoil-some-palestinians-fun |title= Palestinians in Israel: Boycotting the boycotters |newspaper=The Economist |location =London |author=Tiberias |date=May 11, 2013}}</ref>

In January 2009, Walker was one of over fifty signatories of a letter protesting against the [[Toronto International Film Festival]]'s "City to City" spotlight on Israeli filmmakers, and condemning Israel as an "[[apartheid]] regime".<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/05/filmmakers-react-anti-israel-film-festival-protest/ |title=Toronto film festival ignites anti-Israel boycott |newspaper=The Washington Times |author=Brown, Barry |date=September 5, 2009 |access-date=August 1, 2012}}</ref> Two months later, Walker and sixty other female activists from the anti-war group [[Code Pink]] traveled to [[Gaza City|Gaza]] in response to the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Gaza War]]. Their purpose was to deliver aid, meet with NGOs and residents, and persuade Israel and Egypt to open their borders with Gaza. She planned to visit Gaza again in December 2009 to participate in the [[Gaza Freedom March]].<ref>[http://www.gazafreedommarch.org/article.php?id=5063 Gaza Freedom March] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903212614/http://www.gazafreedommarch.org/article.php?id=5063 |date=September 3, 2009 }}. Retrieved February 2010.</ref> On June 23, 2011, she announced plans to participate in an aid [[flotilla]] to Gaza that attempted to break Israel's naval blockade.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harman |first=Danna |url= http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/author-alice-walker-to-take-part-in-gaza-flotilla-despite-u-s-warning-1.369262 |title=Author Alice Walker to take part in Gaza flotilla, despite U.S. warning |newspaper=Haaretz |location=Tel Aviv |date=June 23, 2011 |access-date=August 1, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/26/israel-accused-gaza-flotilla-journalists |location=London |work=The Guardian |first=Conal |last=Urquhart |title=Israel accused of trying to intimidate Gaza flotilla journalists |date=June 26, 2011}}</ref>

In May 2013, Walker posted an open letter to singer [[Alicia Keys]], asking her to cancel a planned concert in [[Tel Aviv]]. "I believe we are mutually respectful of each other's path and work," Walker wrote. "It would grieve me to know you are putting yourself in danger (soul danger) by performing in an apartheid country that is being boycotted by many global conscious artists." Keys rejected the plea.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Itzkoff| title =Despite Protests, Alicia Keys Says She Will Perform in Tel Aviv| work =The New York Times| url =http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/despite-protests-alicia-keys-says-she-will-perform-in-tel-aviv/|date=May 31, 2013 }}</ref> Walker has refused to allow ''[[The Color Purple]]'' to be translated and published in Hebrew,<ref name="TimesOfIsrael-2012">{{cite news |title=Alice Walker says no to Hebrew 'Purple' |newspaper=Times of Israel |date=June 19, 2012 |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/alice-walker-refuses-to-authorize-hebrew-version-of-the-color-purple/}}</ref><ref name="NP2013">{{cite web|url=http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/06/07/jonathan-kay-where-israel-hatred-meets-space-lizards/|title=Where Israel hatred meets space lizards|last=Kay|first=Jonathan|date=June 7, 2013|work=National Post|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131130034713/http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/06/07/jonathan-kay-where-israel-hatred-meets-space-lizards/|archive-date=November 30, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> saying that she finds that "Israel is guilty of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinian people, both inside Israel and also in the Occupied Territories" and noting that she had refused to allow [[Steven Spielberg|Steven Spielberg's]] film adaptation of her novel to be shown in South Africa until the system of [[apartheid]] was dismantled.<ref>{{cite web | last=Itzkoff | first=Dave | title=In Protest, Walker Won't Allow Hebrew Translation of 'The Color Purple' | website=ArtsBeat | date=2012-06-19 | url=//artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/in-protest-walker-wont-allow-hebrew-translation-of-the-color-purple/ | access-date=2022-05-15}}</ref>

===Support for Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange===

In June 2013, Walker and others appeared in a video expressing their support for [[Chelsea Manning]], an American soldier who was imprisoned for releasing [[classified information]].<ref>{{cite web| last =Gavin| first =Patrick| title =Celeb video: 'I am Bradley Manning'| work =Politico| date =June 19, 2013| url =http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/celebrity-bradley-manning-video-93041.html}}</ref> In recent years, Walker has spoken out repeatedly in support of [[Julian Assange]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Julian Assange is not on trial for his personality – but here's how the US government made you focus on it |first=Noam|last=Chomsky|author-link=Noam Chomsky|author2=Alice Walker|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=September 9, 2020|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/julian-assange-trial-us-trump-chelsea-manning-chomsky-walker-b420930.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909164523/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/julian-assange-trial-us-trump-chelsea-manning-chomsky-walker-b420930.html |archive-date=2020-09-09 |url-access=limited |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Assange Defence Committee: Launch Event |website = [[YouTube]]| date=September 5, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiPXFeL3KQU| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/ZiPXFeL3KQU| archive-date=2021-10-31 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Artist Alice Walker |url=https://artistsforassange.org/alice-walker/ |website=Artists for Assange}}</ref> Founder of Wikileaks, Assange was considered a large threat to U.S. national security during the Obama administration, as he revealed classified intelligence information surrounding war crimes and human rights violations in [[Iraq]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo]] Bay. Subsequently, Assange was arrested after attempting to seek refuge in the Ecuador embassy in London. He was later extradited to the U.S. and prosecuted on criminal charges. In light of these developments, Alice Walker published an Opinion Editorial taking aim at the US justice system and calling for the vindication of the charges brought against Assange. <ref>{{Cite web |last=CourageA |date=2022-10-10 |title=Alice Walker pens Kansas City Star op-ed: Biden must end Trump's war on the press. Drop the Julian Assange case |url=https://assangedefense.org/press-release/alice-walker-pens-kansas-city-star-op-ed-biden-must-end-trumps-war-on-the-press-drop-the-julian-assange-case/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Assange Defense |language=en-US}}</ref> Moreover, Walker also took part in a panel discussion in Berkeley, California for the purpose of freeing Assange.

=== Animal advocacy ===
Walker has expressed that [[Animal rights movement|animal advocacy]] is one of her central concerns. Her fiction has increasingly embraced [[animal ethics]] over the past four decades, as she works to include animals as both active participants in her novels and as symbols for what she has called "consciousness." Her earliest fiction represents nonhuman animals inasmuch as they are part of human life – namely as farmed animals, food sources, and absent referents for animalized [[epithet]]s directed at humans, and her fiction increasingly incorporates the animal experience.<ref>{{Cite book |last=June |first=Pamela B. |title=Solidarity with the Other Beings on the Planet: Alice Walker, Ecofeminism, and Animals in Literature |publisher=Northwestern University Press |year=2020 |edition=1st |language=English}}</ref> She has advocated for greater consciousness in human beings and their relationships with animals, stating: "Encouraging others to love nature, to respect other human beings and animals, to adore this earth, is part of my work in this world."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Outka |first=Paul |title=Race and Nature from Transcendentalism to the Harlem Renaissance |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2008 |location=New York |pages=115 |language=English}}</ref>

===Pacifism===

Walker has been a longtime sponsor of the [[Women's International League for Peace and Freedom]]. In early 2015, she wrote: "So I think of any movement for peace and justice as something that is about stabilizing our inner spirit so that we can go on and bring into the world a vision that is much more humane than the one we have dominant today."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wilpfus.org/emailArchives/PresidentsCorner/2015_01_15.html|title=From the President's Corner|author=Harrison, Mary Hanson|publisher=WILPF|date=January 20, 2015|access-date=January 26, 2019|archive-date=December 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217181056/https://wilpfus.org/emailArchives/PresidentsCorner/2015_01_15.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> She has written several works that convey her pacifist views, those including ''The Same River Twice'' and ''We are the Ones We have been Waiting for: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness.'' She discusses the importance for establishing an equitable and peaceful society. <ref>{{Cite web |title=EXCERPT FROM WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR BY ALICE WALKER |url=https://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/wearetheones.html |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=www.feminist.com}}</ref>

=== Transgender rights ===
In 2023, Walker publicly defended [[J. K. Rowling]] from criticisms of her views regarding trans people. Walker wrote on her website: "I consider J.K. Rowling perfectly within her rights as a human being of obvious caring for humanity to express her views about whatever is of concern to her. As she has done."<ref>[https://alicewalkersgarden.com/2023/03/theyre-trying-to-burn-the-wrong-witch-the-witch-trials-of-j-k-rowling-redacted-news/ Walker, Alice. They're trying to burn the WRONG Witch – The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling | Redacted.]</ref> She herself expressed the view that women were being "erased" in language, dictionaries and society, and that "confusion" with respect to gender had led to hasty [[sex reassignment surgery|sex reassignment surgeries]], at least when minors were concerned. Walker was criticized on social media for taking this position with many referring to her as a [[TERF]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=McClure |first1=Kelly |title=Alice Walker defends J.K. Rowling's TERF views in new essay |url=https://www.salon.com/2023/03/10/alice-walker-defends-jk-rowlings-terf-views-in-new-essay/ |website=Salon |date=March 11, 2023 |access-date=May 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dawson |first1=Shannon |title=Alice Walker Labeled A TERF For Siding With J.K. Rowling's Trans Exclusionary Views |url=https://madamenoire.com/1337996/alice-walker-slammed-for-defending-jk-rowling/ |website=madamenoire.com |date=March 14, 2023 |publisher=Madame Noire |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref> In a subsequent essay, Walker addressed trans people, stating: "I fully understand that your life belongs to you; therefore whatever changes you make, I offer my prayers for a beautiful transformation and complete recovery", and acknowledged that one of the "most loving and balanced people" she knew was a trans man.<ref>[https://alicewalkersgarden.com/2023/03/beloved-young-trans-people/ Walker, Alice. Beloved young trans people.]</ref>