Toni Morrison (1931-2019)

Summary Label

Notable African American 20th & 21st Century poet & writer.

Title

Toni Morrison (1931-2019)

Date of Birth

February 18, 1931

Date of Death

August 5, 2019

gender

Female

Hometown or Region

Lorain, Ohio

Freedom Status

Free

Occupation

Writer, Poet & Activist

Biography

Chloe Ardelia Wofford, later Toni Morrison, was born on February 18th, 1931. She was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, and is the second of four children. Her parents were born in the Deep South and migrated to Ohio during the Great Migration due to racism. After finishing high school, Morrison attended Howard University and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English. Following that, she went to Cornell University to receive her Master’s in English. With her degree, Morrison went into teaching. It was not until Morrison was 30 teaching at Howard that she ventured into writing by walking into a writer’s club. She began writing some, but did not release anything until a far later point. At this time, she marries Jamaican Architect Harold Morrison and has 2 sons, but later has a divorce. Subsequently, she takes on a job as a textbook editor for Random House in Syracuse, New York. Wanting to contribute to black literature, she did editorial work for influential black political figures like Angela Davis and Huey P. Newton. Morrison soon began to take her writing more seriously and published her first book, The Bluest Eye. This received national acclaim for its commentary on race and black womanhood. Morrison went on to release 11 other novels. She was praised for how she thoughtfully discussed the nuances of African American narratives and race culture in America. This resulted in her receiving many achievements including a Nobel Prize in literature and a Pulitzer Prize. At age 88, Morrison unfortunately passed away from complications of pneumonia in New York.

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Connected Historical Actor(s)

Angela Davis, Maya Angelou & Zora Neale Hurston

Student Researcher

Florence Korley