
Who: Gwendolyn BrooksWhat: American poet, author, and teacherWhy: Her work focused on the lives of black people, the migration movement, World War II, and social justice movements. In 1950, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry – making her the first African-American to get a Pulitzer. It was for “Annie Allen,” which followed the life of a black girl growing up on Chicago's South Side.
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