Tag Archives: police killings

“Paradise” Explains Nichols Killing

By Robin Bates | Published: January 30, 2023

Toni Morrison’s “Paradise” helps explain why Black policemen would carry out the horrific killing of Tyre Nichols.

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Black Lives, Durable as Daisies

By Robin Bates | Published: June 17, 2020

This previously unpublished Lucille Clifton is perfect for our tumultuous time.

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Toni Morrison’s Caution about Black Anger

By Robin Bates | Published: July 11, 2016

The killer of the Dallas policemen is not unlike Guitar in Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon.” Through Guitar, Morrison shows how black anger is corrupted by violence. She also shows, through the novel’s protagonist (Milkman), how black resolve is stronger than anger and can soar above the earth.

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