--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True the Black woman did the housework…" description: "\"True the Black woman did the housework, the drudgery; true, she reared the children, often alone, but she did all of that while occupying a place on th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/toni-morrison-271_accepting_true-the-black-woman-did-the-housework-t_2007139.jpg" --- # True the Black woman did the housework, the drudgery… ![“True the Black woman did the housework, the drudgery; true, she reared the children, often alone, but she did all of that while occupying a place on the job market, a place her mate could not get or which his pride would not let him accept.And she had nothing to fall back on: not maleness, not…” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/toni-morrison-271_accepting_true-the-black-woman-did-the-housework-t_2007139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/toni-morrison-271_accepting_true-the-black-woman-did-the-housework-t_2007139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/toni-morrison-271_accepting_true-the-black-woman-did-the-housework-t_2007139.jpg) > “True the Black woman did the housework, the drudgery; true, she reared the children, often alone, but she did all of that while occupying a place on the job market, a place her mate could not get or which his pride would not let him accept.And she had nothing to fall back on: not maleness, not whiteness, not ladyhood, not anything. And out of the profound desolation of her reality she may very well have invented herself.” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Black women historically should multiple burdens of labor, parenting, and economic survival without societal support, leading to self‑definition and resilience. **In simple terms:** Black women juggle work, childcare, and limited support, forging identity. Key Takeaway Recognize and support the hidden labor of Black women. Themes gender race labor resilience identity Mood determined reflective Type sociological inspirational When to use this quote - workplace - single parenting - economic hardship - community building Key Concepts intersectionality systemic oppression self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions better support Black women’s multiple roles? - What personal strategies aid resilience? A Different Perspective Lacks specific policy solutions for systemic inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-woman-238023/) [Black women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-women/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Desolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desolation/) [Did Housework](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-housework-974569/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Fall back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-back/) [Housework](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housework/) [Housework Drudgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housework-drudgery-3563332/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Maleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maleness/) [Mates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mates/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Whiteness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiteness/) [Whiteness Ladyhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiteness-ladyhood-3563331/) [Woman Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-did-507925/) ## Related quotes > [“Nanny Ogg never did any housework herself, but she was the cause of housework”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/nanny-ogg-never-did-any-housework-herself-but-she-was-the-cause-of-2/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Women now make up almost half the labor force, yet in 2014 the bureau found that women spent about half an hour more every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-saini/women-now-make-up-almost-half-the-labor-force-yet-in-2014-the-bureau/) [Angela Saini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-saini/) > [Nanny Ogg never did any housework herself, but she was the cause of housework in other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/nanny-ogg-never-did-any-housework-herself-but-she-was-the-cause-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“No amount of flowers or pretty compliments could ever measure up to a man who did housework.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/no-amount-of-flowers-or-pretty-compliments-could-ever-measure-up-to-a/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“It was inconsiderate not to have a gardener if, like Dr Ranta, you were in a well-paid white-collar job. 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I was a mapmaker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-youngblood/i-was-a-woman-and-did-not-yet-think-of-myself-as-a-writer-i-was-a/) [Shay Youngblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-youngblood/) > [“But she had never known that a man could want a woman and not take her because he did care. 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The world is full of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dunant/she-is-only-a-young-woman-who-did-not-want-to-become-a-nun-the-world/) [Sarah Dunant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dunant/) > [“This was a woman who loved to suck cock. And the difference from a woman who did it as a favor or a chore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skye-jordan/this-was-a-woman-who-loved-to-suck-cock-and-the-difference-from-a/) [Skye Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skye-jordan/) > [“And she was-definitely-a woman who did not shrink from gauntlets, but stepped up to them, and said, Okay, bring it. Bring your worst. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/and-she-was-definitely-a-woman-who-did-not-shrink-from-gauntlets-but/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. 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I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "True the Black woman did the housework, the drudgery; true, she reared the children, often alone, but she did all of that while occupying a place on the job market, a place her mate could not get or which his pride would not let him accept.And she had nothing to fall back on: not maleness, not whiteness, not ladyhood, not anything. 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