Rebecca Walker
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Walker is an American writer
. She has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 future leaders of America.
, the daughter of Alice Walker
, the African-American author of The Color Purple
, and Mel Leventhal, a Jewish American lawyer. After her parents divorced, she spent her childhood alternating every two years between her father's home in the largely Jewish Riverdale section of the Bronx
in New York City
and her mother's largely African-American environment in San Francisco, where she attended The Urban School of San Francisco
. When she was 18, she decided to change her surname from Leventhal to Walker, her mother's maiden name.
in 1992, she co-founded Third Wave Foundation, a non-profit organization aiming to encourage young women to get involved in activism and leadership roles. In its first year, the organization initiated a campaign that registered over 20,000 new voters across the United States
. The organization now provides grants to individuals and projects that support young women. Walker is considered one of the founding leaders of third-wave feminism
. Despite Walker's public indictments of her mother, some critics believe she has benefited professionally from Alice Walker's stature and political orientation.
Walker was a contributing editor to Ms. magazine for many years. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including Harper's, Essence
, Glamour, Interview, Buddhadharma, Vibe, Child, and Mademoiselle
magazines. She has been featured on CNN
and MTV
, and has appeared in The New York Times
, Chicago Times
, Esquire
, Shambhala Sun, among many other publications. She also had a role in the film Primary Colors.
Walker has received several awards for her work, including the Women of Distinction Award from The National Association of University Women, "Feminist of the Year" award from the Fund for the Feminist Majority, the "Paz y Justicia" award from the Vanguard Foundation, the "Intrepid Award" from the National Organization for Women
, the "Champion of Choice" award from the California Abortion Rights Action League and the "Women Who Could Be President Award" from the League of Women Voters
. Walker spends much of her time speaking about (her) multicultural identity, enlightened masculinity and intergenerational and third-wave feminism at universities and conferences around the world. She also teaches writing workshops and consults on non-fiction manuscripts.
Walker is the author of four books, To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism; Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self; What Makes A Man: 22 Writers Imagine the Future and her latest, Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence. She is currently working on a third anthology, One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love.
Walker is featured in The Advocate
s Forty under 40 issue of June/July 2009 as one of the most influential out
media professionals.
In December 2004, Walker gave birth to a son, Tenzin.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 future leaders of America.
Early life
Walker was born Rebecca Leventhal in Jackson, MississippiJackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, the daughter of Alice Walker
Alice Walker
Alice Malsenior Walker is an American author, poet, and activist. She has written both fiction and essays about race and gender...
, the African-American author of The Color Purple
The Color Purple
The Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. It received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction...
, and Mel Leventhal, a Jewish American lawyer. After her parents divorced, she spent her childhood alternating every two years between her father's home in the largely Jewish Riverdale section of the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and her mother's largely African-American environment in San Francisco, where she attended The Urban School of San Francisco
The Urban School of San Francisco
The Urban School of San Francisco is a private high school located adjacent to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. Urban offers a rigorous college preparatory program in math, science, the arts and humanities. All students are issued state-of-the-art laptop computers for school and home...
. When she was 18, she decided to change her surname from Leventhal to Walker, her mother's maiden name.
Education and career
After graduating cum laude from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1992, she co-founded Third Wave Foundation, a non-profit organization aiming to encourage young women to get involved in activism and leadership roles. In its first year, the organization initiated a campaign that registered over 20,000 new voters across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The organization now provides grants to individuals and projects that support young women. Walker is considered one of the founding leaders of third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study whose exact boundaries in the historiography of feminism are a subject of debate, but often marked as beginning in the 1980s and continuing to the present...
. Despite Walker's public indictments of her mother, some critics believe she has benefited professionally from Alice Walker's stature and political orientation.
Walker was a contributing editor to Ms. magazine for many years. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including Harper's, Essence
Essence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
, Glamour, Interview, Buddhadharma, Vibe, Child, and Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
magazines. She has been featured on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, and has appeared in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Chicago Times
Chicago Times
The Chicago Times was a newspaper in Chicago from 1854 to 1895 when it merged with the Chicago Herald.The Times was founded in 1854, by James W. Sheahan, with the backing of Stephen Douglas, and was identified as a pro-slavery newspaper. In 1861, after the paper was purchased by Wilbur F...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Shambhala Sun, among many other publications. She also had a role in the film Primary Colors.
Walker has received several awards for her work, including the Women of Distinction Award from The National Association of University Women, "Feminist of the Year" award from the Fund for the Feminist Majority, the "Paz y Justicia" award from the Vanguard Foundation, the "Intrepid Award" from the National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
, the "Champion of Choice" award from the California Abortion Rights Action League and the "Women Who Could Be President Award" from the League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
. Walker spends much of her time speaking about (her) multicultural identity, enlightened masculinity and intergenerational and third-wave feminism at universities and conferences around the world. She also teaches writing workshops and consults on non-fiction manuscripts.
Walker is the author of four books, To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism; Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self; What Makes A Man: 22 Writers Imagine the Future and her latest, Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence. She is currently working on a third anthology, One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love.
Walker is featured in The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
s Forty under 40 issue of June/July 2009 as one of the most influential out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
media professionals.
Personal life
Walker is bisexual and previously had a relationship with neo-soul musician Meshell Ndegeocello, whose son she helped raise.In December 2004, Walker gave birth to a son, Tenzin.
Books
- To be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism (1996) (Editor)
- Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self (2000)
- What Makes A Man: 22 Writers Imagine The Future (2004) (Editor)
- Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence (2007)
- One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love (2009) (Editor)
External links
- Official site
- Official Myspace Page
- Third Wave Foundation
- Excerpt: Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, published December 1, 2000 in The Multiracial ActivistThe Multiracial ActivistThe Multiracial Activist is a libertarian-oriented activist journal covering social and civil liberties issues of interest to individuals who perceive themselves to be biracial or multiracial. In addition, interracial couples and families and transracial adoptees are also constituencies...
- Book Forum Article
- Editorial Work Greater Good Magazine Summer 2008