Alice Walker’s novel Meridian, her latest at the time of this event, tells the story of a Black woman caught in the crosscurrents of the Civil Rights Era. Over the course of the novel, the protagonist negotiates overlapping pressures from a variety of characters including Black militants who are dismayed to learn that she’s unwilling to kill for the cause and her deeply religious mother who withdrew her love after learning that her daughter is unwilling to accept Jesus. Like Mary Ann Pollar, Alice Walker’s character is a powerful Black woman with vision and integrity who feels called to serve her community.
