Everyday Use

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"Everyday Use" is a widely studied and much-anthologized short story by Alice Walker. It was first published in 1973 as part of Walker's short story collection, In Love and Trouble.

The story is told in the first person by the "Mama" (Mrs. Johnson), a Black woman living in the Deep South with one of her two daughters. The story humorously illustrates the differences between Mrs. Johnson and her shy younger daughter Maggie, who still live traditionally in the rural South, and her educated, successful daughter Dee (or "Wangero", as she prefers to be called), who scorns her immediate roots in favor of a pretentious native African identity.

A film version was released in 2003.