Toni Morrison's role as a senior editor at Random House from 1971 to 1983 is highlighted alongside the Civil Rights and Black Arts movements. Morrison's commitment to African American empowerment prompted her to focus on Black interiority, producing literature that did not cater to white audiences. She emphasized the vitality of Black publishing, linking its survival to the energy and innovation of Black people. Morrison aimed for transformative changes within the predominantly white publishing industry, suggesting that real change happens one book at a time.
Morrison's editorial career was informed by the invigoratingly insular ethos of African American empowerment through self-regard, aiming to explore Black life with minimal interest in white readers.
Morrison urged that the survival of Black publishing depends on the energies of Black people: energy, inventiveness, innovation, tenacity, and contempt for obstructive institutions.
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