Eugene Scott: What Toni Morrison said about Trump supporters and fears of the ‘collapse of white privilege’
Her death on Monday at 88 coincided with national conversations about the role President Donald Trump has played in stoking white nationalism. Many fans of Morrison are reflecting on her words criticizing the consuming nature of dismantling racism.
Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, Morrison wrote "Making America White Again," an essay for the New Yorker about the cultural anxiety that she said motivated most of the white Americans who voted for Trump. She wrote: "So scary are the consequences of a collapse of white privilege that many Americans have flocked to a political platform that supports and translates violence against the defenseless as strength. These people are not so much angry as terrified, with the kind of terror that makes knees tremble.
“On Election Day, how eagerly so many white voters — both the poorly educated and the well educated — embraced the shame and fear sowed by Donald Trump. The candidate whose company has been sued by the Justice Department for not renting apartments to black people. The candidate who questioned whether Barack Obama was born in the United States, and who seemed to condone the beating of a Black Lives Matter protester at a campaign rally. The candidate who kept black workers off the floors of his casinos. The candidate who is beloved by David Duke and endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.”
The "terror" that Morrison mentioned when describing some Trump supporters has revealed itself in recent days following a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where police believe the suspect probably posted an online rant using language that mirrors rhetoric used by President Donald Trump. The posting is still under investigation.
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