In her commencement speech to Barnard College’s graduating class of 1976, Toni Morrison reminded her audience: “You are moving in the direction of freedom, and the function of freedom is to free somebody else.” Morrison recognized that the women to whom she was speaking would be uniquely empowered to “determine which life is expendable and which is indispensable.” She warned them that it was their responsibility to use their newfound empowerment to liberate rather than to oppress.
