Margaret Walker
10x10in
2025
Margaret Walker was a celebrated poet, novelist, and scholar whose work gave voice to the African American experience with power and grace. She gained national recognition with her 1942 poetry collection For My People, which won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. Her work combined lyrical beauty with political urgency, addressing themes of racial identity, struggle, and resilience.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1915, Margaret Walker made Mississippi her home for much of her life and career. She moved to Jackson in 1949 to teach at what is now Jackson State University, where she became a foundational figure in the school’s English department and Black studies programs. Mississippi’s social and political landscape heavily influenced her work, and she used her writing and teaching to challenge racism and preserve Black history and culture.
In addition to her literary achievements, Walker was a trailblazer in academia and a mentor to generations of Black writers and scholars. She founded the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People at Jackson State in 1968, one of the first centers of its kind in the country. Her legacy in Mississippi is profound—not only through her powerful writing but also through her dedication to education, cultural preservation, and social justice.