Walter Mosley Biography

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Recommended: Role of religion in english literature

Ashleigh N. Ferrara
Walter Mosley
March 13, 2014

Walter Mosley is an inspiration to not only writers, but also people all over the world, including African Americans. Walter Mosley was born as a child of a mixed race; his father was an African American and his mother was a white Jew. He grew up in Los Angeles, California where his parents often told him to stay inside because L.A. was very crowded with all the people living there and he could get abducted. Because of this, Mosley was drawn to writing.
Walter Mosley was born on January 12, 1952 in Los Angeles, California, as Walter Ellis Mosley. His mother, Ella, was Jewish and worked as a personnel clerk. Her ancestors had emigrated from Russia. His father, Leroy Mosley (1924-2005), was an African American from Louisiana who was a supervising custodian at a Los Angeles public school. His parents tried to marry in 1951 but, though the union was legal in California where they were living, no one would give them a marriage license. Walter Mosley loved his parents very much and losing them later in life was a big devastation to him. Walter had lost his parents in his early adult life. Speaking about their death, he said, “Losing my parents really set me adrift in more ways than one. It’s not just losing them, it losing the possibility of family.” (Source #6)
When Walter was twelve years old, his parents moved the family from south central California to a more comfortable, affluent, working-class west Los Angeles. He was largely raised in a non-political family culture, although there were racial conflicts flaring throughout Los Angeles. When he was very young, he would sit right in front of the television set. He would close his eyes while watching because it w...

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... Mosley is on Goddard College Board of Trustees. He has served on the board of directors of the National Book Awards. Also, Mosley is on the Board of the Trans Africa Forum. His presence on these boards are important because without him, the boards would not be able to succeed and forego donations to African American organizations.
Mosley seems to put others before him. By doing this he is able to do what he has always felt to do, such as, donating to organizations, or supporting important boards of the United States. Overall, Mosley is an amazing and inspiring person. From day one, Mosley has been an encouragement and influence to humans all over the world. He is especially a role model to me because he devotes his time to others, not only like himself, but to everyone. He also cares for everyone around him and he just want to help as much as he can.

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