Kelli's Reviews > Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship

“the survival of Black publishing, which […] is a sort of way of saying the survival of Black writing, will depend on the same things that the survival of Black anything depends on, which is the energies and of Black people – sheer energy, inventiveness and innovation, tenacity, the ability to hang on, and a contempt for those huge, monolithic institutions and agencies which do obstruct us”.

My respect and admiration for Toni Morrison has ascended to the highest level after reading this. From the start, she made it her goal to publish Black authors and share the authentic Black experience with the world. She showed her love for her people through her writing and her actions. As editor, she made sure to put her people first and worked tirelessly to make sure their stories were heard with no regard for the white gaze or any other watchful eye. I love all the ways that she loved us…firmly, unapologetically, loud and proud. You hear it in her interviews, you feel it through her writing, you see it in her profound impact as a visionary editor. We have her to thank for empowering cultural icons such as Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali, Lucille Clifton, and Toni Cade Bambara to tell their stories on their own terms.

“Toni Morrison transcended her role as an author, helping to shape an important period in American publishing and literature as an editor at one of the nation's most prestigious publishing houses. While Toni Morrison's literary achievements are widely celebrated, her editorial work is little known. Drawing on extensive research and firsthand accounts, Dana Williams recounts Morrison's remarkable journey from her early days at Random House to her emergence as one of its most important editors.”