Bill Proposing 'Toni Morrison Day' Passes Ohio House

LORAIN, OH — Legislation honoring Ohio-native Toni Morrison passed the Ohio House on Thursday. The Nobel Prize winning author died in 2019 and this bill would mark Feb. 18, her birthday, as Toni Morrison Day in Ohio.

“Toni Morrison is the embodiment of the promise of Ohio. She made the most of her innate talents with ceaseless hard work and rose to the pinnacle of literary achievement," said state Rep. Joe Miller, from Amherest. "I am excited that we have the opportunity to recognize Ms. Morrison as one of Ohio's most accomplished creative minds.”

Miller and state Rep. Stephanie Howse, from Cleveland, introduced the legislation honoring Morrison. With the bill's passage in the Ohio House, it will now head to the Ohio Senate for consideration.

Morrison died August 6 in New York City after battling an illness. Throughout her distinguished career, Morrison wrote 11 novels, including "Beloved," and many of her stories focused on the realities of being black in America. Throughout her life, she received numerous awards and recognition, including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Morrison was also the first African-American woman to become an editor at Random House. She helped publish the works of Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, Toni Cade Bambara and more.

“Toni Morrison’s work stirred our souls, challenged our conscience to confront injustices and encouraged the rest of the world to do the same,” said Howse. “She set the stage for an entire generation of authors to tell their untold stories and celebrate the beautiful diversity of humankind.”