Gwendolyn Brooks 1917–2000

Name ______Class ______Date ______The Civil Rights Movement Biography Gwendolyn Brooks 1917–2000

WHY SHE MADE HISTORY Gwendolyn Brooks was an award-winning poet, novelist, and a leader of the Black Arts Movement. She was also the first African American poet to receive a Pulitzer Prize.

As you read the biography below, think about the role Gwendolyn Brooks’ writing played in the civil rights movement. Why was her poetry

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As African Americans worked to bring an end to discrimination, most still lived in poor inner city neighborhoods. The Black Power movement focused on the need for social and economic reforms. A Black Arts Movement also emerged to tell the story of African American life. Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was at the forefront of this movement. Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1917. Two months after her birth, her family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she would live for the rest of her life. Brooks was a shy child who developed an interest in writing. Her mother encouraged this interest, and teachers helped develop her talent. At an early age, Brooks was published in national magazines and newspapers. After graduation from high school, Brooks entered community college and received an associate’s degree. She worked at many different jobs, from maid to spiritual healer. Later she would write about these experiences. She was also involved in the Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and helped found a club for young black artists and writers. Through this club, she met her future husband, poet Henry Blakely. Over the years Brooks wrote poems and novels about her experiences living in Chicago’s mostly black South Side. She wrote about African American life in the middle of the twentieth century before the civil rights movement. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Brooks became involved in the Black Power movement and the Black Arts Movement. The Black Arts Movement focused on African American themes and was geared to African American audiences. Brooks wrote narrative poems about African American activists, including Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. She only published her work with black presses.

In 1968 Brooks became the Poet Laureate of Illinois. She used her own money to create an award for young writers in the state. In 1976 she became the first African American woman elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. She also served as a Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. During her lifetime Brooks wrote more than twenty books of poetry. In 1949 she became the first African American poet to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Annie Allen, a book of poetry about an African American girl growing up in Chicago. She received numerous other literary honors for her contribution to American literature.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN? 1. Make Inferences How do you think the Black Arts Movement influenced American culture?

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______2. Elaborate Do poets and writers play an important role as political and social activists? Explain your answer.

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ACTIVITY Gwendolyn Brooks wrote poetry and novels focusing on social issues that affected African Americans. Poetry is often used to stir emotions and make people aware of political or social issues. Select a social issue that is important to you and write a short poem about it.