The Bluest Eye and the Whitest nerve to question our Black-ass talent
Welcome to the 47th installment of This Black-Ass Life. We’re in our feelings so we want to talk about Toni and her talent. As one tribute put it so eloquently, “Morrison’s greatest gifts – a virtuosic feel for language and an eye for bringing the lived experiences of Black Americans to the center… never has a writer been so clear about her intention. These are lives that matter.”
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l. The Facts
This past Monday, the last great American author, Toni Morrison, passed away at the age of 88.
Born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, Toni Morrison wrote 11 novels, nine non-fiction works, five children's books, two short stories, and two plays.
Morrison won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1993.
This loss is devastating, especially for Black people in America, whose story she wrote with tender precision and heart. As Oprah said in 2018, “it’s impossible to actually imagine the American literary landscape without a Toni Morrison, she is our conscience, she is our seer, she is our truth-teller.”
Why does it matter?
We need to exalt and celebrate Toni Morrison and the legacy of all Black revolutionaries and talents because even while she was alive, White people were trying to desecrate her genius as they do for many of our icons.
In 1988, after writing several of her seminal works including The Bluest Eyes and Beloved, 48 Black authors including Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, and Henry Louis Gates Jr. actually had to write an open letter to the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award deploring the fact that Ms Morrison had not won either. She later won the Pulitzer.
When Toni Morrison did start getting the prizes she deserved, including the Nobel in 1993, White men showed their ass – as they are known to do. And in one article, a literal day after she won the Nobel Prize, this is what White authors and critics felt comfortable saying on the record:
"{Toni Morrison} has been the beneficiary of goodwill."
“... when that particular brand of politics is filtered through her mytho-poetic writing, the result is often offensive, harsh… Whites are portrayed badly. Men are. Black men are."
“The award was a triumph of political correctness."
"I hope this prize inspires her to write better books.”
"She has a certain skill, but she has no serious artistic vision or real artistic integrity.”
“Beloved was a fraud. It gave a fake vision of the slave trade, it didn't deal with the complicity of Africans, and it moved the males into the wings.”
“The Bluest Eye' was her best. I thought something was going to happen after that. Nothing did."
Make no mistake, these critiques were rooted in racism. You can perceive a people as less than if you conclude that none among them are exceptionally intellectual. From Baldwin yesterday to Coates today, minimizing Black greatness, questioning Black genius and undermining Black talent is a tool of oppression.
What can you do?
Celebrate Toni Morrison. Buy all of her books if you don’t already own them. Read them. Spread the gospel of her genius.
Be like Toni and mentor your Black siblings. Besides being a world-renowned author, Toni Morrison also shepherd the writing careers of many other Black icons including Muhammed Ali, Angela Davis, and Gayl Jones.
Watch Toni Morrison check Charlie Rose. She knew he was trifling before we all did. A seer indeed.
Read these classic Black books by Black authors.
And here are 50 soon-to-be iconic books by Black authors from the past 5 years. Buy these books. Black authors rarely get their flowers while they are alive, put some money in their pocket. Special shout out to I Can’t Date Jesus and Sing, Unburied, Sing.
And here are 17 more must-read Black books from Queen Oprah’s Magazine.
ll. Other Things
In Megan’s knees, we believe.
Nicki and Meg’s “Hot Girl Summer” is the first female rap collab to reach #1 on iTunes USA.
Meg and Lizzo pushed twerking and fluting to the next level.
Simone Biles did the first double-double beam dismount in HISTORY (ignore the trifling commentary in the video). 🐐
We didn’t know you could formally apply to join the KKK, but I guess that’s what this cop did.
Idris Elba brought the yee-haw agenda to North Philly.
Read Kayla Reed on the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death and the reason state violence must be a core issue for Dems in 2020.
Love After Lockup Report.
The best show on T.V. We have more questions.
How much money did Scott throw into the street?
Why didn’t producers rescue Lamar from Andrea and Utah?
Why did Megan tell on herself to Michael unprompted?
When will we get Tracie *and* Clint help?
Who taught Lizzie these new makeup and hair blending techniques? Because they’re working!
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Jumoke):
In a week where all I wanted to do was cry, Rapsody’s Ibtihaj was a welcome respite. Watch the video.
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not looking forward to:
I (Jumoke) am looking forward to The Farewell. Not a Black-ass movie, but an immigrant story that I know will resonate.
I (Mitu) look forward to sobbing through Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. Jumoke has warned me – and I’ll share with the rest of you – that this is a tearjerker.
lll. A motivational text from a Black-Ass Dad
Thank you to Jumoke’s dad for this powerful and wonderfully random reminder that came in on Saturday at 3:53 AM.
Stay Black, thrive, and read Black authors. We’ll hit your inbox next on August 26.