We the Readers: The Color Purple
Tue, Aug 04
|Huntsville-Madison County Public Library
Celebrate the 250th anniversary of The Declaration of Independence this year at the Downtown Huntsville Public Library with a search for The Great American Novel.
Time & Location
Aug 04, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, 915 Monroe St SW, Huntsville, AL 35801, USA
About the Event
Celebrate the 250th anniversary of The Declaration of Independence this year at the Downtown Huntsville Public Library with a search for The Great American Novel.
This month we are reading The Color Purple by Alice Walker, published 1982.
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband.
In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few…