the letter she wrote to the actress jane alexander, who was in the head of the national endowment fors, rejecting the 1997 national medal for the arts. alice walker, your final thoughts on adrienne rich? >> i think the better demonstrates that integrity she had that i so admired. and i think her legacy for all of us is to continue to believe in the power of art, especially the power of poetry, and to keep moving and not to be dissuaded, not to be discouraged, but to take heart from a woman who lived for 82 years giving her very best, growing at of every shell that society attempted to force her into to become this really amazing figure of inspiration and hope and love. >> alice walker, thank you for being with us, pulitzer prize- winning author and activist, frances goldin, agent and friend of adrienne rich. we will post her letter to you on democracynow.org. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made pos

. >> reporter: jane alexander moved out of west oakland for the same reason. >> i think criminals targetomeone they perceive as weaker, so if you can surprise them, you're in better shape. >> reporter: the word of increasing break-ins around the bay area has fueled their drive to pick up a gun. >> sometimes during the day they break in. >> reporter: gun ranges like target masters confirm there's been a spike in female shooters motivated by the fun of the sport and personal defense. this is trending across the country. in 2009 a study showed gun store owners reported a 70% increase in female customers in recent years. 80% of them citing personal defense as their reason. and the latest fbi numbers show background checks shot up over 14% in 2010. >> every time someone tries to buy a firearm, a background check is automatically run. here in california last year, the background checks went up 11%, but the spike has caused some concern saying there's too great a responsibility, especially once you walk out the doors. >> i want to make sure that weapons that are kept in your house are kept safe