Every time she speaks is like
listening to an Oracle with each
word potentially carrying great
meaning. Sadly, one cannot
watch this film without noticing
the extent of racism she faced as
a black writer, which continued
throughout her career. Early re-
viewers wondered if she would
break out of limiting her stories to
only black history and tell a fuller
American tale. As noted, these
same reviewers would never say
something similar about an Irish
writer whose stories dealt only
with the Irish experience. Some
of these reviews stuck with her for
decades because they were so
hurtful. Even when she became
the first African-American to win
the Nobel Prize for Literature, the
moment was sullied by writers
who chose to criticize the decision
and demean her work. The writer
Charles Johnson said the award,
“was a triumph of political correct-
ness” while critic Stanley Crouch
called Beloved a ‘fraud’ and said,
“I hope this prize inspires her to
write better books.”
Watch the trailer for Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 62
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