Board of Education racial desegregation case. Brooks' mother had taught at the Topeka school that later became involved in the Brown v. Her mother was a school teacher as well as a concert pianist trained in classical music. Her father, a janitor for a music company, had hoped to pursue a career as a doctor but sacrificed that aspiration to get married and raise a family. She was the first child of David Anderson Brooks and Keziah (Wims) Brooks. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas and raised on the South Side of Chicago. In 1976, she became the first African American woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A lifelong resident of Chicago, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968, a position she held until her death 32 years later. Throughout her prolific writing career, Brooks received many more honors. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on May 1, 1950, for Annie Allen, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (J– December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher.

Gwendolyn brooks about race