Acclaimed author Paule Marshall, whose writings often reflected on her own heritage, the complexity of Black identities and racism, has died at the age of 90.
Marshall’s son, Evan K. Marshall, confirmed that she had passed away in Richmond, Va., after suffering from dementia over the last few years, according to the Associated Press.
Marshall was born in Brooklyn, New York under the name Valenza Pauline Burke. Her parents were immigrants from Barbados.
After high school, she first attended Brooklyn College with a desire to pursue social work. However, she ultimately decided to major in English literature. She transferred to Hunter College, where she graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
Upon graduation, Marshall wrote for a Black publication called Our World. Eventually, after five years of writing and work, Random House published her first novel, Brown Girl, Brownstones, in 1959.
Marshall’s childhood inspired Brown Girl, Brownstones, which focused on the life of Barbadian immigrants in New York during the Great Depression as they juggled both racism and poverty.
To Dr. Lou-Ann Crouther, an associate professor of English emerita at Western Kentucky University, reading a story from a Black woman’s perspective was empowering. Rather than just reading books in school such as Charlotte’s Web or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Crouther wished she also could have been exposed to Marshall’s work at a younger age.
