VIDEO: Sneak Peek - THE COLOR PURPLE Author Alice Walker on PBS' AMERICAN MASTERS Tonight

Writer/activist Alice Walker (b. Feb. 9, 1944) made HISTORY as the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her seminal novel The Color Purple (1982), for which she won the National Book Award. THIRTEEN's American Masters presents Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, premiering nationally tonight, February 7 at 9 p.m. on PBS in honor of Walker's 70th birthday and Black HISTORY Month. Filmmaker Pratibha Parmar's new documentary tells Walker's dramatic life story with poetry and lyricism, and features new interviews with Walker, Steven Spielberg, Danny Glover, Quincy Jones, Gloria Steinem, Sapphire and the late Howard Zinn in one of his final interviews. Watch the trailer below!

American Masters - Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth charts Walker's inspiring journey from her birth into a family of sharecroppers in Eatonton, Ga. to the present. The film explores Walker's relationship with her mother, poverty, and participation in the Civil Rights Movement, which were the formative influences on her consciousness and became the inherent themes in her writing. Living through the violent racism and seismic social changes of mid-20th century America, Walker overcame adversity to achieve international recognition as one of the most influential - and controversial - writers of the 20th century. Delving into her personal life, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth reveals the inspiration for many of her works, including Once (1968), The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970), Meridian (1976), The Color Purple (1982), In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens (1983), Possessing the Secret Joy (1992) and Overcoming Speechlessness (2010).

Praised and pilloried, Walker has driven people to express joy as well as anger and ruthless vilification over her art, personal views and global human rights advocacy. As seen in the film, Yoko Ono awarded her the 2010 LennonOno Peace Award for her ongoing humanitarian work. American Masters analyzes these aspects of the self-confessed renegade's life and career.

"As a filmmaker, one of the deepest desires is to engage the audience in the conversation unfolding on screen. I am thrilled to offer this in Beauty In Truth, where Alice's openness, warmth and on-screen intimacy reflects our long HISTORY of kinship," said Parmar. "Making Beauty In Truth has been an adventure of discovery and sheer inspiration. I'm so pleased it will have a national audience on American Masters." Parmar's past works include feature film Nina's Heavenly Delights (2006) and the documentary Warrior Marks (1993), based on the book of the same name that she and Walker co-authored.

"Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth is a complex exploration of a pioneering artist and human rights activist that gives audiences a penetrating look at a life lived with passionate commitment," said Stephen Segaller, Vice president of programming for WNET. "Having the American Masterspremiere coincide with her 70th birthday is a nice bonus."

Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth is a production of A Kali Films LTD and Kali8 Productions LLC and American Masters for THIRTEEN production in co-production with Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation and the Independent Television Service and in association with Artemis Rising Foundation. Pratibha Parmar is writer, director and producer. Shaheen Haq is producer. Babeth M. VanLoo, Eve Ensler, Regina Kulik Scully and Deborah Santana are executive producers. Pratibha Parmar, Paul Monaghan and Linda Peckham are editors. Original music composed by Tena R. Clark and Tim Heintz with featured music by Christen Lien. Andy Shallal is associate producer. ForAmerican Masters: Susan Lacy is executive producer. Stephen Segaller is executive-in-charge.For Independent Television Service: Sally Jo Fifer is executive producer.

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