I'm always annoyed about why black people have to bear the brunt of everybody else's contempt. If we are not totally understanding and smiling, suddenly we're demons.

Quote by Toni Morrison

Topics: Toni Morrison Quotes

Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.

Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may...

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may...

I always looked upon the acts of racist exclusion, or insult, as pitiable, from the...

I always looked upon the acts of racist exclusion, or insult, as pitiable, from the...

I don't think anybody cares about unwed mothers unless they're black or poor. The question...

I don't think anybody cares about unwed mothers unless they're black or poor. The question...

If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.

If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not...

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not...

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,...

Birth, life, and death -- each took place on the hidden side of a leaf

Birth, life, and death -- each took place on the hidden side of a leaf

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.

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...

The body is ready to have babies. Nature wants it done then, when the body...

The body is ready to have babies. Nature wants it done then, when the body...

For a long time I was convinced that the conflict between Jewish people and black...

For a long time I was convinced that the conflict between Jewish people and black...

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....

Schools must stop being holding pens to keep energetic young people off the job market...

Schools must stop being holding pens to keep energetic young people off the job market...

Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all.

Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all.

All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where...

All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where...

Black boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their lives, because they were...

Black boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their lives, because they were...

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...

From the suites of Davos to the streets of Seattle, there is a growing consensus...

From the suites of Davos to the streets of Seattle, there is a growing consensus...

Who then is free? The one who wisely is lord of themselves, who neither poverty,...

Who then is free? The one who wisely is lord of themselves, who neither poverty,...

I was surprised to find that I missed doing the musical.

I was surprised to find that I missed doing the musical.