From her unyielding conviction to write beyond the white gaze, to her profound themes on womanhood, love, the value of Black men in America, religion, and colorism, Toni Morrison has said it all…and then some. Resultantly, the author, born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, is celebrated as the First Lady of Literature today. As we mourn her Monday night passing, here are some of her most profound statements on love, language and self.
1. "I got my mind. And what goes on in it. Which is to say, I got me." — Sula
2. "You are your best thing." — Beloved
3. "All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was."
4. "Art reminds us that we belong here. And if we serve, we last."
6. "She is a friend of my mind…" — Beloved
7. "Love is divine only and difficult always. You do not deserve love regardless of the suffering you have endured. You do not deserve love because somebody did you wrong. You do not deserve love because you want it. You can only earn — by practice and careful contemplation — the right to express it and you have to learn how to accept it." — Paradise
8. "I didn't fall in love, I rose in it." — Jazz
9. "Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all." — Beloved
10. "Make a difference about something, other than yourselves."
11. "Oppressive language does more than represent violence, it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge, it limits knowledge." — Nobel Lecture, 1993
12. "There is really nothing more to say — except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how."
17. "Does your face light up?" — The Oprah Winfrey Show
What are some of your favorite Toni Morrison quotes? Share them with us and with your friends below, and let's celebrate her legacy with the gifts she's given to us, her words!
