#Sundance Review: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Premiering at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am celebrates the life and achievements of famed literary genius extraordinaire, Toni Morrison. An intimate look into her life and her eventual love affair with language, it explores the complexities of navigating being a Black woman while making her mark in the industry. Over the course of her illustrious career, she has garnered praise from her peers and admires alike, such as Oprah Winfrey, Fran Lebowitz, Sonia Sanchez, Walter Mosley and more.
Growing up, I was always familiar with Toni Morrison the Author and how she boldly challenged the way Black life was perpetuated in mainstream art and media. She dared to write from her heart and for her people, not considering how white audiences would receive it, but remaining true to herself and the essence of what she wanted to create. This was how I’ve always known her, and the documentary not only expands heavily on her societal and cultural contributions and successes, but delves deeper into Toni Morrison the woman, and the mother.
Born in the culturally diverse community of Lorain, Ohio in the 1930’s, Morrison came from a pretty tight family unit. Her first job, naturally, was at a library. She loved books, reading and the escape that they provided her. While her mother wanted to keep a watchful eye on her at a college nearby, Morrison opted for a true collegiate experience that allowed her to flex her independence and extraordinary baking skills. She chose Howard University, to get the type of education and cultural enrichment she was looking for, all while living her best life. It was no surprise that Morrison chose to pursue her career interests in the arts. After graduation, she married, had two sons and divorced shortly thereafter. The divorce brought her even closer to family, whom she leaned on for support, and simultaneously spurred her to make some additional career leaps, with her sons’ best interests in mind.
This documentary was fresh in so many ways, but getting the opportunity to understand her as a multi-faceted woman, learning to juggle family health and career wealth, while making mistakes and growing, was enlightening. Through struggle, hardship, sexism and racism, Morrison also bet on herself. She excelled as a successful editor while writing more and more, becoming the prolific writer we now know and respect. Publishing revolutionary books from Angela Davis and Muhammed Ali – who may not have been prepared or even thought of writing – Morrison’s ability to find and uplift the next great voices as a top book editor mirrored her innate gift to make magic and captivate audiences in her own bodies of work.
Morrison has broken barriers for Black women in publishing and beyond. Even when she received misguided backlash for winning the Nobel Prize, she stood firm, drowning out the noise while enjoying her well-deserved praise and honor. She is a testament that Black women can have it all, family and career, but it will stretch you in ways you can’t even imagine. While Morrison was stretched by adversity, she never broke. While she has found commercial success in the literary work and in film, she is still that young Black girl at heart who gets carried away by books, understanding the profound journey that the imagination takes you on.
