The passing of Toni Morrison caught me by definite surprise. I am not a person who would be touched enough to dedicate a blog post to a celebrity who has passed away however Toni Morrison was not just a celebrity [even though she was world-renowned/famous].
She may not have known this but she touched and changed my world with her writing. Reading The Bluest Eye connected me to the writing of my people – the writing of black people. Her work made loud the voices of black girls [and boys] about the world we live in.
I might not have experienced the African American type of oppression or their cultural way of life but her work made me feel as though all black people have the same experience of life. Her work made me curious about African writers and finding out whether our stories were similar to those of African Americans.
I mention The Bluest Eye because it was the first book I had ever read and analysed written by a black person. Imagine that? An African child who has never read work by other African children and then lo and behold comes a descendant of African children to open up my eyes.
Toni Morrison was a true gift to the African American community [as well as Africans]. I pray she rests knowing that her voice gave all other black people [especially girls] a platform to make their voices heard.
Missblossoming 