"When you use the term minority or minorities to refer to people, you are telling them that they are less than someone else." This quote is from Gwendolyn Brooks, one of the most famous African American poets of the twentieth century. The quote means that when you say you label someone a minority, you are labeling them as a lower form of human being than someone else who is not a minority. Gwendolyn Brooks was important to American history because she carved out a significant place among 20th-century African American authors by creating poems that addressed and brought awareness to the experiences of urban African Americans. The quote says that minorities are less than other peoples, African Americans were a mistreated minority at the time. Racism was rampant in 20th century culture, and as part of that culture, so was the civil rights movement that wanted African Americans to be treated like other Americans. Gwendolyn Brooks was born on July 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. David and Keziah Brooks. Brooks' early life was like most other African Americans of the time, where racism and hatred were a natural part of life. At the age of thirteen he wrote his first poem and it was published in a children's publishing house. “Eventide” was the first poem Gwendolyn Brooks ever published. This first poem sparked something within her to create her love and passion as a poet. Brooks attended Hyde Park High School, a predominantly white school. When she moved to Wendell Phillips High School for a short time, until the schools were integrated and she attended Englewood High School. The beginning of Gwendolyn's career truly began when she was thirteen and wrote her first poem “Eventide,...... middle of paper ......ngs into her life and saw the potential for a better future , which can be discovered in all of us. "Bio.com. A&E Networks Television and Web. May 12, 2014. "Gwendolyn Brooks - Poetry Archive." Gwendolyn Brooks. Np, n.d. Web. May 12, 2014. "Gwendolyn Brooks." Foundation for Poetry. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. May 10, 2014. "Quotes by Gwendolyn Brooks." Quotes by Gwendolyn Brooks (author of selected poems). Np. Web. May 12, 2014. "Lesson Plan - Gwendolyn Brooks." , nd Web. 12 MayPoet: Gwendolyn Brooks - All the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks. "Poet: Gwendolyn Brooks - All the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks." Poemhunter.com, nd Web. 12 May 2014. Poets.org American Poets, n.d. Web. May 12, 2014. "Urban Rage in Bronzeville: Social Commentary in the Poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, 1945-1960." IDEALS @ Illinois: Np., n.d. Web. May 12 2014.