[Toni Morrison 4]

An interview with author Toni Morrison in 1979 about her life, work, and philosophy.

00:00Copy video clip URL Tape begins mid-sentence, with discussions of white policing of the confident behavior of black men.: “Out in their [ie the white] community, that is not seen  as a strong man. That is seen as a rebellious, uppity, dangerous, arrogant black man. So he may have been forced to confine his strength, confine his clarity to his own neighborhood, his own community, his own friends, and not display it elsewhere because that was trouble for him. And those that did display it elsewhere, as we know, were frequently jailed or shot or had some grievous problems that had to do with whether they could earn a living or not.”

01:56Copy video clip URL Angela Davis and other black women who have led literal and figurative troops. A long history of fighting and leading the fight, back to slavery, from women who also performed emotional and domestic labor. The achievements of black women, she argues, should be celebrated: running a house and raising children, these are worthy of celebration. 

05:50Copy video clip URL The value and importance of nurturing – something that should be performed also by men, and which should not be a woman’s only role. The necessity of caring and nurturing for feminism. 

07:04Copy video clip URL Her grandmother and mother’s enormous importance in her life. Discussion of her family’s history of education and the importance of wisdom and stories passed down from previous generations. 

13:20Copy video clip URL Tape goes black.