This year “marks a century of national commemorations of Black history,” and, here in Ohio, also welcomes the inauguration of the Buckeye State’s year-long celebration of the life, literature, and legacy of Toni Morrison, who was born in Lorain, Ohio, and was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Events are being planned throughout the state officially beginning on February 18, better known as Toni Morrison Day (enshrined in Ohio Revised Code 5.293); and libraries, community organizations, and literary associations are encouraged to join in! Check out the official website, including the Events page, to find out more.
As you join in the celebration, we encourage you to visit the Lorain Public Library’s Toni Morrison Reading Room this year. The room is a fitting tribute to Morrison and one which she herself advocated: Her request was that the Main Library of the Lorain Public Library System, the building where she spent much her childhood and youth satisfying her deep hunger for books and literature, build a reading room where, she told a reporter, there would be “comfortable, upholstered chairs”; a room where people, especially young people, would “have an opportunity to make their own acquaintance with books… Books are intellectually challenging. Books make you confront things. They make you discover things that would have gone undiscovered.” (from the Lorain Public Library’s website)
A search of the Library of Congress for materials relating to Toni Morrison, include a video of her appearance at the 2011 National Book Festival and a link to the text of Senate Resolution 402 honoring the life, work, and legacy of Toni Morrison which describes her as “one of the most formidable scholars, educators, and authors of the United States” and “a writer of the stature of other great literary figures of the United States.”
The Ohio Center for the Book looks forward to being a part of the celebration this year and to promoting the creative programs that spring up around the state.
The Ohio Center for the Book encourages you to discover Black poets, authors, and other literary figures this month and every month. One place to start are some of our previous Page Count podcast episodes, including recent ones like:
- Touring the Paul Laurence Dunbar House
- Clicking Our Heels Three Times with Dr. Taylor Byas
- Literary Screening: American Fiction with Literary Cleveland – A literary conversation looking at American Fiction, the 2023 adaptation of Percival Everett’s novel Erasure. Laura Walter is joined by Matt Weinkam and Michelle R. Smith of Literary Cleveland.
- Celebrating James Baldwin with Quartez Harris
Check out our whole back catalog of episodes going back to 2022.
Black History Month provides an opportunity to celebrate, discover, re-discover, and highlight both historical and contemporary writers who may become your next favorite author for a lifetime.
Check your local library’s website, too, to explore what Ohio’s amazing libraries have planned this month!