On This Day in 1950: Gwendolyn Brooks Won Pulitzer Prize

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Gwendolyn Brooks, 68, poetry consultant to the Library of Congress and named poet laureate of the state of Illinois in 1968, sits in the Poet Room of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., in March 1986. Brooks, who advises the Library of Congress on its literary programs and acquisitions, will end her one-year term in May. (AP Photo/Library of Congress)
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(AURN News) — On May 1, 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book “Annie Allen,” becoming the first Black American to receive the honor.

The collection, her second book of poetry, includes “The Anniad,” a 43-stanza poem centered on the life of an ordinary Black girl in Chicago.

The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry recognized her work as the year’s best volume of verse by an American author.

Brooks later received the National Medal of Arts in 1995 and served as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress in 1985.

She continued writing and publishing for decades. Brooks died Dec. 3, 2000, at age 83, leaving a lasting legacy in American poetry.

Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.

Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane

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