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

Quote by Toni Morrison

Topics: Toni Morrison Quotes

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...

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 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 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.

As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.

As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.

I'm always annoyed about why black people have to bear the brunt of everybody else's...

I'm always annoyed about why black people have to bear the brunt of everybody else's...

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...

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,...

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.

The unflattering reviews are painful for short periods of time; the badly written ones are...

The unflattering reviews are painful for short periods of time; the badly written ones are...

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...

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

There is really nothing more to say-except why. But since why is difficult to handle,...

There is really nothing more to say-except why. But since why is difficult to handle,...

Black people are victims of an enormous amount of violence. None of those things can...

Black people are victims of an enormous amount of violence. None of those things can...

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.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man...

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man...

The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of the aftermath.

The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of the aftermath.

Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure -...

Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure -...