Watch This. Toni Morrison on Race as a Social Construct. on ‘The Colbert Report.’

Toni Morrison


In this short interview on The Colbert Report, Toni Morrison talks about her writing and her achievements with host Stephen Colbert. When asked by Colbert whether she thought whites could be able to understand the African-American experience, she had this to say,

There is no such thing as race — none. There’s just the human race. Scientifically. Anthropologically. Racism is a construct — a social construct. And it has benefits. Money can be made off it. People who don’t like themselves can feel better because of it. It can describe certain kids of behavior that are wrong or misleading. So it has a social function — racism. But race can only be defined as a human being.

She also jokingly took full responsibility for Obama care when talking with Colbert about how much the President admires her work. Watch the entire video below.