Today, February 9th, is the birthday of writer and activist Alice Walker. Among her accolades and things you should know her for, is her Pulitzer prize-winning The Color Purple (1983). Much of her work has explored womanhood, the black American experience, and human rights.

Below is a clip from the PBS “American Masters” special “Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth.”

Walker has spoken before about art being good for the soul, saying “If art doesn’t make us better, than what on Earth is it good for?” I’m taking her 72nd birthday as an opportunity to reflect on these artistic insights in my own work.