The Extraordinary World of MARBL: Alice Walker’s Boots and Jeans

The Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library is a place of discovery. All are welcome to visit and explore our unique holdings, whether as a researcher or an observer. The breadth and depth of our collections are vast, and it is nearly impossible to investigate every nook and cranny. We invite you this year, through our blog, to tour some of those places you didn’t know existed, and get acquainted with collections you might not have previously explored. Check back in with us weekly over the course of 2013 as we offer you a delightful look into some of the favorite, but perhaps lesser-known, corners of our collections. These pieces are visually interesting, come attached with fascinating stories, and are often 3D objects you might not have realized are part of what makes up The Extraordinary World of MARBL.

Best-known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker is also well-known for her political and social activism.  She participated in marches of the Civil Rights Movement, is a member of the anti-war group Code Pink, and regularly participates in demonstrations for numerous other causes. Walker donated a pair of jeans and two pairs of boots along with the rest of her papers to MARBL.  She told archivists that she felt it was important that she preserve the “uniform” of her political activism.  Numerous photographs in the Walker papers depict her wearing these jeans and boots at rallies and demonstrations.

 

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