In this video clip, the grande damme of literature, Toni Morrison, explains the philosophy behind her latest book, 'A Mercy.' She discusses the distinction between the enslavement of blacks and general slavery that has existed since the dawn of man and why the enslavement of blacks, in particular, is so insidious and how it evolved in America. Watch and learn.

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By: KEVIN on 12/08/2008 12:30AM
Slavery is always will be insideous. Yes we have an African American prisident now. But, we are still not viewed as full citizens of this country. We will always be thought of as sons and daughters of former slaves.
This country and some white people will never give us the respect we deserve. The truth about slavery is evil. Those who lesgislated the continuation of slavery wanted Africans to be to kept in our place. We were not seen as equal to white America and White America did not have to respect us as human beings
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By: Maxine Thompson on 12/08/2008 12:02AM
I can't wait to read Toni Morrison's latest offering. As a reader, her untold African American stories and her poignant use of language have always brought me to a different understanding of life. I always re-read her books and gain more insight as I get older. No matter how troubling the subject matter, no matter how painful the read, you finish Toni Morrison's books and you feel delivered. She captures all the conundrums, the pathos, and the beauty of life in her sentences.
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By: Uriah Jordan on 12/12/2008 2:42AM
I've always associated our story in this country with Joseph in the Bible. He too was sold by his brothers and like Joseph the association of his station and the master's woman earned him an unwarrented imprisonment, but with the intervention of the gifts given to him by God he rose to a higher station, saved the country that enslaved him and in doing so saved the very family members that sold him into slavery. I'm not sure if anyone else sees the simalarities between Joseph and the children of those who survived slavery.
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