The Association of Blacks with Poverty
Morrison explores how the white community in America perceives Black Americans. Over the decades, Black Americans are seen as a minority group that is discriminated against. Therefore, most blacks are born poor, have limited opportunities, and rely on junk foods for survival. In the Essay 'Clinton as the First Black President,' the reader can easily misinterpret Morrison that Clinton is physically a black president. However, Clinton's blackness in character symbolically represents the perceptions of the white society towards blacks. Since Clinton exhibits blackness tropes such as being born poor and raised by a single parent, the whites called him the first black president. Consequently, the reader learns that being a black person in America is not an easy task because one is subjected to hard life and discrimination.
Racism
The theme of racism is prevalent throughout Morrison's essays. Starting from the first essay, President Clinton is associated with blacks because he was born poor. The white society believes that poverty is associated with blacks. Morrison's essays' critical analysis reveals that Blacks are denied opportunities, and they are subjected to either modern slavery or segregation. In the essay 'Rediscovering Black History,' which was published in 1974, the author talks about intrinsic bigotry stereotyping backs as an unfit group of people who do not deserve equal and fair treatment. For instance, Morrison describes incidents in which black lawn jockeys and black literature books are banned. According to Morrison, the continued bigotry against blacks psychologically affects the new generation of black children because they know that they live in a society that does not want them to prosper.
African-American Literature
Toni Morrison is passionate about African American literature, and she questions why the white society is not ready to accommodate it in the certified canon of American creative writing. According to Morrison, there is a need for the white community to embrace ethnic and diverse literature to reflect the assumption that American is a free society. Morrison also disputes the narrative that the white culture is superior to blacks in creative writing matters. In the essay 'Black Matters, ' Morrison describes the lecture she delivered and how she critiqued the absence of black literature in American literature's tenets. Consequently, Morrison's contributions are to be considered in future days; readers expect to read more of African literature in the canons of American literature.
