A television announcement of Toni Morrison's death included a snippet from a 1993 interview and, although it didn't include the question, it seems she was asked about dealing with racism and white supremacy.
“There’s a certain kind of moral leadership that could help.
I mean the contempt for poor people, the contempt for difference that is everywhere - in education, in politics, everywhere - is not just a school responsibility. Imagine raising your children to despise other people. Imagine living in a world in which you’re perfectly willing to trash all of your big cities, to flush all of the big cities down the toilet because of the word inner-city, which means those people who live there. Or to trash your whole public school system, to sink it in other words, because of the contempt for those people.
But, if the racist white person - I don’t mean the person who is examining his consciousness and so on - doesn’t understand that he or she is also a race….it’s also constructed, it’s all also made and also has some kind of serviceability. But, when you take it away - I take your race away and there you are, all strung out, and all you got is your little self, and what is that? What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Are you still smart? Do you still like yourself?
These are the questions….I mean, if you can only be tall because someone is on their knees, then you have a serious problem.â€
Last edited by ryck; 08/07/1912:58 PM. Reason: fixed quote
ryck
"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers
