Tribute to Toni

As many of you likely know, one of America’s greatest literary heroes, Toni Morrison, passed away this week. Though she lived a full life— passing a the age of 88— my heart aches with the news. I come from an African American family, and it was my collegiate study of Morrison’s works that inspired me to dig into my own past. The study of Beloved and The Bluest Eye in particular provided a gateway for me to both mourn and celebrate centuries of family stories. Armed with a deeper knowledge of my roots, I am infinitely stronger. I want to thank Morrison for her role in enabling me to discover this strength.

The news is full of statements about how Morrison will continue to live on through her writings. This is true. I also think she will live on through those of us who choose to carry on her legacy by fighting for the rights of African Americans. Today’s post is a small tribute to Morrison and a call for teachers to read her works and to encourage the study of African American literature in their classrooms. I paired three of Morrison’s publications for adults with three publications that will empower younger African American students. The books composing each of these pairings explore common themes that shed light on African American experiences.

Text Set 1: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (student text) and The Bluest Eye (teacher text)

Both texts:

- Are realistic fiction novels

- Take place in the mid 1900s in the rural South. Roll of Thunder is set in the heart of the Great Depression, and The Bluest Eye is set immediately after.

- Center on the experiences of young, female, African American characters and the discrimination they face because of their intersectional identities.

- Expose the oppressive environment of the rural South for what it was in the mid 1900s: gruesome, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching. Roll of Thunder tackles issues such as tarring and feathering, poverty, and segregation. The Bluest Eye, too, deals with social and economic exclusion, focusing primarily on internalized racism— how oppression can poison the minds and crush the hearts of the those who are forced to endure it.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry:

- Centers on the story of 9-year-old Cassie and her family.

- Provides a close up look into the minds of African American characters whose thoughts and motives are characterized by hope, self-sacrifice, reliance, and compassion.

- Demonstrates how children can work towards achieving justice in their communities

- Models how a family can unite to combat oppression.

- Centers on realistic portrayals of tragedy and hardship for African Americans during the Great Depression, while simultaneously providing the reader with a sense of hope.

- Keeps descriptions of racial violence at a minimum, making it appropriate for middle school and late elementary students.

The Bluest Eye:

- Follows the story of 11-year-old Pecola, but also provides a close-up examination of the characters that surround her and how their actions create a ripple effect in their community.

- Shows the impact of oppression on the minds of young people and adults alike. The characters are warped— some incredibly so— by their toxic, racist, sexist environment.

- Is imbued with tragedy after tragedy. Each of these tragedies serves as a humbling reminder of the evils that young people face in our broken world and a call to show compassion towards them.

- Should be reserved for adults and students in the latest grades of high school due to its graphic depictions of physical and sexual violence.

Text Set 2: Piecing Me Together (student text) and Paradise (teacher text)

Both texts:

- Explore the intersection of gender and race by centering their stories on African American female protagonists.

- Demonstrate the solidarity of women who, together, confront oppression.

Piecing Me Together:

- Is a realistic fiction novel.

- Is set in the present day in Oregon.

- Follows the story of Jade, a black high school student who attends a nearly all white school.

- Weaves in current social discourse surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, racial profiling, and economic paternalism.

- Provides a realistic portrayal of solidarity among young women within the context of an after-school program called Woman to Woman. Jade models exemplary female leadership by encouraging the program to address prevalent social issues.

- Is appropriate for middle school and high school students.

- Is free of violent imagery, retains a light and optimistic tone, making it appropriate for middle and high school students.

Paradise:

- Combines elements of realism and fantasy.

- Is set in the mid 1900s in an all-black, patriarchal town called Ruby.

- Follows the story of 9 women— all outcasts or runaways. Many of the women have been subject to abuse by men and seek asylum with each other.

- Examines the process of healing and self-acceptance for the women.

- Maintains a dark, suspenseful, and somber tone— opening and closing with scenes of murder. The book seeks to reveal the series of events that caused the bookended brutality.

- Should be reserved for adults and (possibly) students in the latest grades of high school.

Text Set 3: Harbor Me (student text) and “On the Backs of Blacks” (teacher text)

Both texts:

- Examine relationships among immigrants, African Americans, and white people.

- Point to a need for unity among diverse populations.

Harbor Me:

- Is a realistic fiction novel set in the present day.

- Shares the story of six sixth grade students for diverse backgrounds who form a unique friendship together at school.

- Addresses issues of deportation, bullying, racism, loss of loved ones, and the search for one’s identity in an increasingly cosmopolitan world.

- Provides a model of harmonious relationships among immigrant, African American, and white children.

- Demonstrates how students can have meaningful conversations with each other and can support each other through the difficulties they face.

“On the Backs of Blacks”:

- Is a short essay published in 1993

- Addresses the tension between African Americans and immigrants at the time (though, it should be noted that such tensions are still quite present over two decades later).

- Explains how immigrants are dragged through a process of socialization that feeds discriminatory attitudes against African Americans; this can lead to hostility and fear between immigrants and African Americans.

- Demonstrates that though immigrants and African Americans feel the brunt of racial and ethnic prejudices, their shared hardship does not automatically lead to a sense of alliance.

- Is appropriate for high school students and adults.

Conclusion

Each of the student texts described above provides a rather optimistic perspective on the hardships African Americans have endured and continue to endure. These texts expose students to African American history and current discourse on black rights, without dampening their sense of hope. Teachers should find joy in reading Harbor Me, Piecing Me Together, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with their students. But teachers should also expose themselves to counter-narratives that delve into the darker, more poisonous aspects of our hegemonic history and present. The Morrison texts listed in this post provide opportunity for such exposure, endowing us with a fuller perspective on racial oppression. Reading both texts (the student and the teacher text) within each set enables us to teach African American (and all) students a child-appropriate version of our country’s race relations, while remaining cognizant that these same students may witness greater atrocities (such as those described in Morrison’s texts) in real life than what is represented in the youth literature we offer them.