Remembering the Civil Rights Movement in Alice Walker’s Meridian

Alice Walker explores the waning years of the Civil Rights Movement and the emerging Black Power Movement in her second novel Meridian. Although the militant black activists consider the non-violent Movement is obsolete, Walker tries to affirm the value of the Civil Rights Movement by examining the hearts and minds of a black female activist Meridian Hill in the midst of revolutionary social change. Meridian decides to participate in the Movement when she realizes that there are so many innocent losses of community leaders and activists. Her mourning for the losses and her involvement in the Movement helps her understand the importance of communal spirit and overcome racism and androcentric perspectives. Remembering the Movement and revealing the process of Meridian’s personal transformation, Meridian is a powerful reminder of the Movement’s legacy.