One of my kids was born in 1968. There were going to be political difficulties, but they were never going to have that level of hatred and contempt that my brothers and my sister and myself were exposed to.

Quote by Toni Morrison

Topics: Toni Morrison Quotes

If you're going to hold someone down you're going to have to hold on by...

If you're going to hold someone down you're going to have to hold on by...

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...

In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.

In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.

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...

Some Native American writers enjoy being called Native American writers.

Some Native American writers enjoy being called Native American writers.

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....

I like marriage. The idea.

I like marriage. The idea.

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

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

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.

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...

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,...

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...

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...

If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written...

If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written...

Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country between powers to...

Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country between powers to...

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...

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...

You marvel at the economy and this choice of words. How many ways can you...

You marvel at the economy and this choice of words. How many ways can you...

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...

You need a whole community to raise a child. I have raised two children, alone.

You need a whole community to raise a child. I have raised two children, alone.