I always looked upon the acts of racist exclusion, or insult, as pitiable, from the other person. I never absorbed that. I always thought that there was something deficient about such people.

Quote by Toni Morrison

Topics: Toni Morrison Quotes

I'm not entangled in shaping my work according to other people's views of how I...

I'm not entangled in shaping my work according to other people's views of how I...

If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet,...

If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet,...

In becoming an American, from Europe, what one has in common with that other immigrant...

In becoming an American, from Europe, what one has in common with that other immigrant...

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet,...

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet,...

Everywhere, everywhere, children are the scorned people of the earth.

Everywhere, everywhere, children are the scorned people of the earth.

Some Native American writers enjoy being called Native American writers.

Some Native American writers enjoy being called Native American writers.

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet,...

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet,...

Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can't nobody fly with...

Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can't nobody fly with...

I get angry about things, then go on and work.

I get angry about things, then go on and work.

The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange...

The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange...

I would solve a lot of literary problems just thinking about a character in the...

I would solve a lot of literary problems just thinking about a character in the...

One of my kids was born in 1968. There were going to be political difficulties,...

One of my kids was born in 1968. There were going to be political difficulties,...

Make a difference about something other than yourselves.

Make a difference about something other than yourselves.

The loneliest woman in the world is the woman without a close woman friend.

The loneliest woman in the world is the woman without a close woman friend.

Women's rights is not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair....

Women's rights is not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair....

When there is pain, there are no words. All pain is the same.

When there is pain, there are no words. All pain is the same.

Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I don't mean just inheritance...

Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I don't mean just inheritance...

Somebody has to take responsibility for being a leader.

Somebody has to take responsibility for being a leader.

A lot of black people believe that Jews in this country have become white. They...

A lot of black people believe that Jews in this country have become white. They...

Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.

Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.