“My world did not shrink because I was a Black female writer. It just got bigger.”
Toni Morrison said those words to The New York Times in 1987. Her novel Beloved had just come out. Morrison wrote a total of 11 novels throughout her career, and she inspired millions with her words.
Morrison was born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. At that time, many states had laws that allowed the unfair treatment of Black people. And was very common across the country. Morrison’s father dealt with it in his hometown in Georgia.
Morrison faced racism in her own life too. After spending her childhood in Ohio, she went to Washington, D.C., for college in 1949. In America’s capital, there were businesses where she wasn’t welcome. Morrison couldn’t go to some places because of the color of her skin. These experiences helped shape Morrison’s ideas — and her writing.
Morrison worked for years as a teacher before becoming an author. Then in 1970, she released her first book — The Bluest Eye. Morrison set the story in her hometown of Lorain. The book follows a young Black girl named Pecola. Morrison went on to publish 10 more novels. Much of her work focuses on Black people’s experiences in America.
As Morrison’s career continued, she received many awards. In 1988, Morrison’s Beloved won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Then in 1993, the author earned an even greater honor. Morrison became the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in . That world-famous award is based on a writer’s whole career.
This huge success didn’t slow down Morrison’s drive to share her stories with the world. She published more novels. Morrison also teamed up with her adult son Slade to write five children’s books. The author’s teaching career continued as well. From 1989 to 2006, she shared her love of writing with students at Princeton University.
Through all her work, Morrison aimed to educate and inspire. She gave speeches and shared powerful messages of hope. Morrison once said, “You are your best thing.” She talked about taking on challenges too. “If you want to fly,” Morrison explained, “you’ve got to give up the thing that weighs you down.”
Morrison wrote stories that no one else could. She had advice for other authors about doing the same. “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet,” Morrison said, “you must be the one to write it.”
The author died on August 5, 2019, at the age of 88, but her lives on.
Updated February 22, 2022, 5:03 P.M. (ET)
By Mathis Bauchner
