toni morrison in the works of. baldwin am beginning to hear some of those things that i was recognizing a child, that they are also within with some of the questions that that i have and i use them as teachers but more than put us on that front page put us in the books and didn't care about centering anything else and as a young as a youngster, when i stumbled on her, it felt like the entire parameters of my world had been shifted and reshaped. and i really informative ways to kind of stop there. erica, thank you. i'm here very quickly. wow. thank you so much i would like to quickly remind our audience that the last 30 minutes of our conversations are reserved for questions. so please, please, any buttons and questions as the speakers are speaking and the comments using our chat feature. next up, we can load jibran muhammad. thanks. this is a lot of fun and it's wonderful to hear how there's so much overlap in everyone's story, the sort of origin stories that what motivated there. there were the writing that create

toni morrison in the works of. baldwin am beginning to hear some of those things that i was recognizing a child, that they are also within with some of the questions that that i have and i use them as teachers but more than put us on that front page put us in the books and didn't care about centering anything else and as a young as a youngster, when i stumbled on her, it felt like the entire parameters of my world had been shifted and reshaped. and i really informative ways to kind of stop there. erica, thank you. i'm here very quickly. wow. thank you so much i would like to quickly remind our audience that the last 30 minutes of our conversations are reserved for questions. so please, please, any buttons and questions as the speakers are speaking and the comments using our chat feature. next up, we can load jibran muhammad. thanks. this is a lot of fun and it's wonderful to hear how there's so much overlap in everyone's story, the sort of origin stories that what motivated there. there were the writing that create

and if it wasn't for toni morrison and alice walker and james baldwin and ice cube and the q-tips, we wouldn't have known it. so for me that, those are the works for me that illustrate the complexity of the black experience. merely showing me that it was complex, that, you know, a soul album is so far removed from and nwa album. but is this something that i s obsessed with both of them equally. because i just never, that sort of complexity with something that was never taught to me, and something that culture and african-american culture taught me. and it continues, that spills over in my work. i think that's a different question. >> thank you so much. that is really powerful. i mean, i'm learning, i learned about thorndale hurston wish of the same sort of pushed back with using certain language within her work and going up or my mom and dad and i often had this conversation of using hot water and saying things like this johnson realizing that's rooted in language that we were taught during enslavement and the wind which we created it come like it's ours now but the roots of it we sti

i just wanted to add. >> with literary critique so like toni morrison and memoirs of riders. my question begins with doctor green. origin stories. >> multiple voices of storytelling reveal the complexity of the experiences. how do you include the very genres that you represent? >> it feels like writing with parameters to expand of it. i feel like the conversations that we have here are for another generation that's already coming up. we are not the only ones doing the work but i'm excited to see those that are coming forward and expanding where we left off. >> sometimes it is under that teaching and expanding. also encouraging those books as well. the books to discuss them as we would but also i think it means reading some of these as well [inaudible] the whole book can teach you how to t read the other book and tht is one of the things, the reasons in which it can kind of expand the war on reading more books and also reading these established books in different ways. >> going on to ask questions when will we see history. >> it's being developed so hopefully soon. another que

we knew all along, and if it wasn't for at toni morrison's and alice walker and the james baldwin and the these and cubes and the delta shoals and and the q-tips, we wouldn't have known it. so for me that that is those the works for me that that illustrated the complexity of the black experience merely by showing me that there was complex that you know you know something the idea a soul album is so far removed from an n.w.a. album, but it says something that was obsessed with both of them equally, because i, i just never that sort of complexity was something that was never taught to me and something that, you know, culture and african-american culture taught me. and it continues to, you know, that spills over in my work. i think there's a different question. thank so much that is really powerful mean i'm learning i about zora neale hurston in the way in which she had the same sort of pushback with using certain language within her work you know down to my family living room growing up where my mom dad and i often had those conversations of, you know, using patois and saying things, li

toni morrison talks a lot about words are things that get into your curtains that can live within youtant to think about if we can't get over our fear of saying gay and speaking truth to power, we should expect to be here again at some point very soon. >> yeah, and toni morrison, whose books are also banned in places like virginia, under these same laws. anti-gay hate crimes, the center for the study of hate and extremism at cal state, san bernardino, said in 2021, compared to 2020, anti-gay hate crimes have risen 51% in major cities. there have been recent attacks on a new york city gay bar with bricks thrown through the windows. you have even attacks on synagogues. it's spreading. all the groups who get targeted are getting -- and i just want to go on, because i don't think most people have seen one, i have been to one with kids there, i want to show you guys what drag queen story hours look like, because there was a drag show that was supposed to be at this club when this attack happened. i want those who don't know to see what this looks like. >> the hair, so a lot of drag queens

and that fact prompted toni morrison to say in her essay, described as so many women offer novels as included some kind of terror and dropping the veil of events that are too terribleto relate . and there is the trauma of rs white violence is relegated to the novel until it isn't. but the specific piece of the board is her quest to find a romantic partner. for years readers and scholars like n myself elevated the love story between jamie and pk and remain silent over the violencebetween them . the violence that brought their love to a close. the violence i alluded to is the violence between jake. many of us know that tk strikes jamie and i'm sure it's not foplot spoiler for anyone but i don't believe that it was an accident that janie kills jake during the middle of ahurricane . just a few scenes before we learn tk had a brainstorm. to that janie to keep control of her so i don't think it's uncorrected but whether or not you agree with me the cheating was something she concocted as an elegant gesture of revenge . the book still ends with the threads so not neatly jamie has returned h

i love what toni morrison did for us as women, as long as we put our sexuality out there in that book, our friendships love that she lit everything in that book. and so soul is my one. if i were to start movies in top, you know. but then again, i don't want to spoil it because sometimes yes, i think sometimes that happens, you know. so hopefully a good screenwriter could, you know work at one? but that would be my top, top one. all the octavia butler books i know there are some some that are coming. i would i here's the thing. i actually want someone to redo their eyes were watching god i hated screen at all my god i care and that oh and so i don't know but that's you know yeah okay it's fine but like i'm not like, okay, but like, you know, but i'm like, i feel like we've now the writers rooms, the talent, the all of the things to make that a much better sort of adaptation. and i think we deserve because that is like such a classic love story and i'm an avid romance reader, so i'm with all of, you know, of the books. but i do want to say this one thing about shonda, which is that but

ricans two years ago and we're only going to continue to grow growing up you know the stereotypical toni morrison quote you know what you want to read, growing in this country as an undocumented kid from el salvador. there were books that with that looked like me, but they didn't talk like me, meaning there's a i talked about assimilation to the to this country and that would be an assimilation towards english. there's also an assimilation of your native spanish. so and where you land in this country and the west coast is mostly dominated by mexican spanish. your we're in a mostly cuban centric spanish if you go to certain parts of new york city or be puerto rican, dominican or colombian, you know, and so it is very important for me to highlight culture, which is salvadorans living and yeah, i think it's talking about representation and and and passing mic to i just wanted to it and in that we have something there's an audio book of it yeah right so because i just think that salvadoran slang also has just such great its intonation. yeah it's it's i love it. i love it very. yes. your question our

ricans two years ago and we're only going to continue to grow growing up you know the stereotypical toni morrison quote you know what you want to read, growing in this country as an undocumented kid from el salvador. there were books that with that looked like me, but they didn't talk like me, meaning there's a i talked about assimilation to the to this country and that would be an assimilation towards english. there's also an assimilation of your native spanish. so and where you land in this country and the west coast is mostly dominated by mexican spanish. your we're in a mostly cuban centric spanish if you go to certain parts of new york city or be puerto rican, dominican or colombian, you know, and so it is very important for me to highlight culture, which is salvadorans living and yeah, i think it's talking about representation and and and passing mic to i just wanted to it and in that we have something there's an audio book of it yeah right so because i just think that salvadoran slang also has just such great its intonation. yeah it's it's i love it. i love it very. yes. your question our

not fact prompted toni morrison to say in an essay so many women author novels essentially dropping the veil that is too terrible to relate and also the trauma of white violence until it isn't that with the quest to find a romantic partner for years scholars like myself remaining silent over the violence between the the violence that ija alluded to i'm sure it's not the platform over anyone that i don't believe it was an accident that jamie was killed in the middle of a hurricane and then we learn that trying to keep control over her that the shooting was something as an elegant gesture it still ends with the thread and jamie has returned home and reestablish the most important friendship of her life reclaimingly her place she is content and alone please excuse the recap of the story but i want to start there and create a conversation aboutut happens to jamie and the woman who created her after she published the novel. we don't have a w lot of time i would like to go straight to the review the familiar you probably it's no less shocking that in those dualities of those expressions of ph

ricans two years ago and we're only going to continue to grow growing up you know the stereotypical toni morrison quote you know what you want to read, growing in this country as an undocumented kid from el salvador. there were books that with that looked like me, but they didn't talk like me, meaning there's a i talked about assimilation to the to this country and that would be an assimilation towards english. there's also an assimilation of your native spanish. so and where you land in this country and the west coast is mostly dominated by mexican spanish. your we're in a mostly cuban centric spanish if you go to certain parts of new york city or be puerto rican, dominican or colombian, you know, and so it is very important for me to highlight culture, which is salvadorans living and yeah, i think it's talking about representation and and and passing mic to i just wanted to it and in that we have something there's an audio book of it yeah right so because i just think that salvadoran slang also has just such great its intonation. yeah it's it's i love it. i love it very. yes. your question our

toni morrison said, "if there is a book, you feel that has not been written yet, then it is probablyp to me and saying they remember me and i've got so many more things i want to do. i will make my mum and family proud every day, i think, but i want to do things where i make myself proud. i've just written something based on my mum 's stories of coming to britain which will be on next year, and i hope to make my family proud with that. i have really enjoyed writing this. i worked with a great illustrator and i have been reading it to kids all over the country. i read it to 9000 kids the other day virtually, and there is going to be a world book day book, where kids get a voucher and they can get any book they want for £1. the next book is the boy with wings two, the attack of the rampaging robots and you will be able to get it for £1. i am really chuffed. i would love to have had a book like this when i was a kid and i'm glad to have written one now. if a kid and i'm glad to have written one now. , ., a kid and i'm glad to have written one now. ,, .., a kid and i'm glad to have writt