Toni Morrison - intro & interview 

This should be an annual requirement of every citizen of the world to watch. So profound and true. Wise. It's not angry. It's factual and kind. I love this woman for her oratory expertise!

The look Ms. Morrison gave the interviewer when asked if she felt whites had a wilful, malicious intent regarding racism will forever be etched in my mind. While drinking a glass of water, Ms. Morrison, without blinking, looked through the glass with disturbed disbelief. That was the moment the interview went downhill for the interviewer and I was here for every second of it.

Her articulation of how racial bigotry robs White Americans of their own humanity (& dignity) by victimizing them to carry out acts of violence is insightful. Her admission that she writes freely, not for the white gaze, before responding to a question that suggests her body of work ignores white characters is steadfast as well. "You can't understand how powerfully racist that question is...can you?" "Even the inquiry comes from a position of being in the center" "It is inconceivable (to you) that where I already am...is the mainstream"

23:27 ‘you can’t understand how powerfully racist that question is, can you?’ Such an articulately sharp rebuttal. It feels like time stands still for a moment. And the penny drops. The interviewer is lost for words.

I could listen to Ms Morrison all day long. I love her perfect responses to the interviewer. So profound.

My god what an impressive human being

Her birthday needs to be a national holiday.

She is so poised, I could listen to her for hours. She is effortlessly inspiring.

One of the most unique ppl in American history . May she rest in power .

There will never come a day when I won't miss Toni Morrison.

We don’t really appreciate our legends until they are gone.

"I stood at a border and clamed as a center" The only good thing about this racist interviewer is that her biased questions were answered with such profound unbrekable power that this video is amazing and moving. Thank you!

This interview encapsulates why Ms. Morrison will forever be my most favorite writer....ever .

"It is a naive question" hehehe she took it there!

Highly intelligent, real, courageous, strong, wise, unique & phenomenal women. R.I.P

She is so wise.

Just brilliance!!!!!

Truer words have never been said in so little time. She really saw humanity at it’s core. Rest In Peace your pure soul and thank you for being an apologetically YOU!

This is a wonderfully eye-opening interview. Every word was a revelation. RIP Toni Morrison, your legacy will always be remembered and loved. You will continuously teach the next generation, even after your passing. The world did not deserve your insight, and experiences, but we surely needed their lessons

Her father wasn’t racist. He used his experiences and the history of white people to form a very valid opinion of them.

The Brilliant Toni Morrison in her nobel prize winning wisdom and gifted creative genius STILL teaching and speaking the truth in the grace that father of hers was standing for. Now they are together again. Rest In Peace wonderful, beautiful, profoundly incredible woman. Thank you thank you thank you forever

For me, every word you speak or write could be carved in marble, Toni Morrison. [Rest In Glory].

Toni Morrison is very clever. Her answers are calculating, thoughtful, and provocative. The interviewer looks attentive, stun, and careful not to ask the wrong questions. Though it is a superb interview.

Toni Morrison is always checking these interviewers lbvs 😌

White people from England, and I can say that because of my history, offer key words that signify "the other" during conversation. This interviewer says, "exotic" as a quote to those listening that the subject referenced is that of a person of color. It's mental gymnastics, on a daily occurence, to navigate the igonance or "subdued/metered" hatred/dislike of you "the person" due to your color. I don't seek to run away or "suck it up." I stand proud of who I'm. Toni represents, as all people of color do, the same. During the entire time, this interviewer explores her work and history in order to determine merit. Remember when white people say, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The statement is an old "trope" harkening back to the days of "you" needing a letter from your master permitting you to leave his sight. Keep that in mind when people talk to you or attempt to validate your actions or words.

Rest in love :)

Her words bring me to tears every time. I don’t know what it is. What an incredible woman.

I love her, as a writer, and I live breathing of her knowledge, as a lesbian woman, I feel honour to had come across her work. I glad the way she challenge the journalist!!!

Profound and enlightening.

Her confidence and glare is everything!

Mrs. Morrison spoke the truth in her words and her words alone. So powerful, calm, with elegance. If you don’t know your own history, how can you understand someone else’s. Our history is coming out to really be heard and the truth hurts in other ppl eyes because of it. Rest in Power Mrs. Morrison, your books will teaches us all for a lifetime!

For the last week I’ve wallowed in documentaries about great American writers such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatby), William Faulkner, Susan Sontag and a few others. This kind of feverish thirst comes upon me once or twice a year where I glorify the writer’s life and all that it entails. I am totally consumed and in a creative space that I relish. It wasn’t until this week that I began to look at the lives of Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin and Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) and suddenly I hear Toni Morrison passes away. There was something mystical about experiencing her death while I was in this creative space. I’ve always adored her stories and the videos documenting her writings. I told myself that I would meet her one day. When I heard of her death I was stunned. I felt a tremendous loss. R.I.Love Toni Morrison

Love. Love this woman. Love what she says. Love the video content. Meaning and message through social media

Toni Morrison’s narratives are uniquely fearless.

I was reading her books since my preteen years before I ever knew who this great woman was. I admire her character and integrity. I admire her courage and skillful sense to say exactly what she means and puts it ever so clearly and eloquently that whatever the point, the "other" person gets it undeniably and without a defense...this "they" try. The gift, the talent, and the skill to cut so sharply and precisely is absolutely worth the Nobel Prize on its own! Love you Toni, RIP🙏💝 You are been an amazing gift to this world!!

This is a phenomenal interview and Toni is so eloquent with words but straight up said to the interviewer "that's a racist question . . . You would never ask a white writer if they were going to write about black people and include them in their work." WOW. Thank you Ms. Morrison for your love of our race and our stories. Peace. Gilda

The tears couldn’t stop falling throughout this interview. Thanks to you incredible people who posts these pieces of history I’ve gotten to truly experience people like Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, etc. Of course I’ve known about them, read their works. But I guess I was to young, or not born yet during their height, to really experience who they are in this way. Thank you for this gift. In regards to Toni Morrison, I understand her acclaim and place in history more now.

Amazing how she words and explains everything she says, her answer to every question is so great. Her understanding of everything is so great!!! I’ve loved her ever since I read her books in high school.

This is, by far, my most favorite interview Toni has ever done. Empress. Queen. Honored one. Thank you.

This lady is unbelievable the ways she explains life in the world of the black race and the inhumanity that they have been placed upon them I am so impressed and thankful that an incredible woman like this was born and walked upon this earth thank you miss Morrison.

What a remarkable human being. Such insight of the world within her, and without.

What a fantastic interviewee Toni Morrison is...😍 she conducted herself with both dignity and respect 🙏🏽😇

Dr. Toni Morrison, lady, sista, you ROCK! Than you much for your wisdom and uninhibited courage to speak and write what the Lord gives you. You are and will forever be beloved in the community. Much love, respect & gratitude.

Where I already am is the mainstream 🙏🏽😍😇

Remarkably lucid, strongly clarifying and hopeful! Toni Morrison was and is a communicator for all times. We agree with her commentary 100% She rests in POWER!😍🙏

03:08 pomp.and introduction over; interview starts 04:50 writing: 'the best place to be... coherence... it fits... I go there and I hope I don't blink... to manage the language that can sing' 06:30 10:10 'a meaningful difference [sic] that requires separation [sic]' 'metaphorical notion of division... powerful utilitarian purposes' 👍 'racism is a scholarly affair.. totally ingrained in the education we receive...in encyclopaedias...' 22:06 'I want to be surprised and shocked every time' 22:15 'I was interested in a literature that is not just confrontational' 🧊 what a 🧊 cold 🧊 cold 🧊 interview 🧊

I love Toni Morrison and I love all her interviews. This interview in particular, is the most important and powerful. So many gems. ❤

This woman has a beautiful soul. You can hear the love, passion and compassion in her voice. I am embarrassed to say I have not read any of her books but listening to her speak so profoundly is soothing and I am sure her writing is just as wonderful. GOD rest your beautiful heart and soul Toni Morrison. ❤

The ignorance of the interviewer...she is totally unworthy of an interview with Ms Morrison. Whoever decided she was?! Attempting to bring her privilege to the table. Ms Morrison was extremely generous to entertain this enquiry that was both condescending and at points accusatory.

This woman is brilliant!! So eloquent, intelligent, and captivating.

21:12 EXACTLY 🤷🏾‍♂️💯👏🏾🎯 The TRUE VICTIM of history!!! Toni, like her work, couldn’t be tampered with or editorialized.

Profoundly transformative! For it's prophetic punch, boldness and beauty.

WOW...wow...being aware is awesome n she so wise. Her dad was prejudiced, but certainly not a racist( he had to control things for that to be the case) w/folks constantly flipping the script.

Love you for this. thanks. and thanks infinite.

Thank you for posting this video. Much love....

Such a brilliant and deep thinker with a intergal life perspective. Her intellect is astounding and her words are piercing to the soul. I feel every word she said.

That is the most successful and delay maneuver I have ever seen in a conversation the extreme fire and power in how she rested in herself.

Queen! I want,so much for someone to make a film of Paradise

Her father wasn’t racist he was right.

Imagine with the tone of the interview and hearing all of Ms. Morrison responses and still proceeding to ask her a racist question. It's like not matter how painful and horrendous our experiences as POC it washes over Non-POCs.

I love how Ms. Morrison analyzes the racism to this "journalist". She breaks it down like she's a doctor explaining psychosis to a mental patient in therapy.

This woman is wonderful. I can listen to her all day.

producing is the best (blessed) place to be. Every creative person knows this to be true and yes it can also be painful at the same time.

She's the best!

This woman was IT. Rest in power queen.

Wow. This was a fantastic interview. This is the first time I've seen it in its entirety. I've only seen clips where folks attempt to "call out" the interviewer for one of her questions. That led me to erroneously assume the interviewer (just by the singular clip) was a racist, combative moron. Nothing could be further from my assumption based on these nearly 30 minutes as that is all I have to go by. She asked fantastic questions - deep, insightful, thorough. And this was a powerful conversation. Ms. Morrison was moved emotionally in her expressive responses and so was the interviewer. This interviewer was fabulous at holding the space - listening without being defensive, being fully present rather than already in her head teeing up the firepower of rebuttal. And when she responded, it was about her, it was about what she heard. I've been to Australia which is a spectacularly racist country and I met NO ONE as poised, present, open and willing to listen as this interviewer. I'm not saying that she is the only one and that all Australians are barbarians. What I am saying is that she has helped to raise my opinion of that country cuz I couldn't wait to get the hell out. Don't come for me. I was born into and live in one of THE MOST RACIST countries in the world - the United States. So I know what it looks like. Feels like. And the Aussies I met were unabashed in their hatred for the indigenous groups there, the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, among others. Toni helps me be a better person. I love her for that.

This woman is next level! Wow 😍

I would need to be a writer of Toni Morrison’s genius to describes the genius of Toni Morrison.

Mother love me keep me warm Mother loves me, keeps me warm, nurtures me, cares for me, and calms me through the storm. To help me mother, help your baby to be strong, nothing more. No Money, is A Mercy, can The Bluest Eye find a Rainbow a Home? For Frank and his Sister here's a poem. I love you, Mother, I thank you everyday, love me, keep me warm, nurture me, care for me, show me what is right and wrong. Your love has kept me, in the light, words that make a man cave bright. And when I go to her at night, she rocks me in my cradle, so I sleep tight. I love you Mother. I Thank you everyday. Mother loves me, keeps me warm, nurtures me, cares for me, and calms me through the storm. To help me Mother, help your baby, to be strong, nothing more. Thank you Toni, for I've been torn, and my mother left me in the storm. By Eddie Campagnola Edward Campagnola, "Directions to the Dumpster" & Pen name "One Directions to Mercy Street"

I teared up when she calmly said do you realize how profoundly racist that question is? She is amazing Tony, so happy we had her, and still hear her voice of wisdom, let alone enjoy her books. Every time I listen to her I get something out, some nugget of wisdom, some clarity.

The two times she took a sip of water were so intentional. She was illustrating a point not hydrating.

This woman 🥰 rest in power Queen

Love you Toni Rest in power

What a goddess.

Whew chile...incredible

Ms. Morrison talked as a matter of fact on topics: racism, sexism, classism, etc. that would make the majority of Americans feel uncomfortable… I can understand and feel an uncomfortablity between Ms. Morrison and the reporter on topics however she expresses her rationality smoothly and with a smile… very cat and mouse-- 😂… especially while discussing the Noble Peace Prize…❤❤❤ Ms. Morrison a great influencer interview…

what a great insight. to put into words what we can only feel but could not articulate or thought was not capable of being articulated. I am saddened that I've now only discovered her writing and her as a person after her passing. 😢 what a great soul and a gentle and wise woman.

One of my favorite parts about her responses is that Morrison recognizes that the interviewer genuinely doesn't understand that she is being racist, because so much of racism and bias is implicit and unintentional. It's ingrained into us white folks from birth. So many of us are raised in it, and to be actively anti-racist takes real work. So much of the racism we're taught is not something any of us would ever consciously practice. I think that's what is happening with this interviewer. She doesn't understand the racism inherent to some of the questions she is asking, and Morrison politely, but firmly and factually sets her straight. Beautiful, deftly done.

...this interviewer... is soo condescending.

@12:21 - 21:38...... Wow..... 👏🏿🤞🏿

Beautiful Interview with words of wisdom. Having touched upon the tenets of white supremacy, which is still applicable today, Thank you Toni - who is now at rest with "The Ancestors" !!

10:57 same exact experience, I never forgot that look from her parents, but knew that this would be our last walk home from school

The interviewer really got offended by Toni's question "You can't understand how powerfully racist that question is can you?" She was gobsmacked and just could not process what she was hearing! It's like you could see it in her eyes.

Miss her so much...

It must've been hard for the interviewer considering the nature of the conversation hehe

This is one of the deepest moments on the net. This is for everyone……

I have history to back me up 🎤

Here in 2020!...

Calm beautiful goddess of truth and reality ❤thank you faafetai

"it's a naive question " loool

American treasure !!!

R.I.Power Queen

slay queen

The young white Jana is so outta her depth in this interview

Every Woman Auntie Oprah Adores... She is Powerful

Could you please upload the cspan in depth interview with Toni Morrison from 2001? Thank you.

This interviewer is so bad. I adore Toni in this interview and always.

Does anyone know they name of the program this was featured on????

Toni Morrison please send your wisdom to me.

How deeply profound.