In the world of American literature, writer and editor Toni Morrison is revered for her award-winning novels and poetry. Her passages on race and gender continue to inform generations of readers on the Black woman’s experience in America, along with her writings giving a spotlight Black American perspectives on race and gender. 

Morrison was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on Feb. 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio, a semi-integrated area. Her family still experienced moments of violence, including an incident at age two where her family’s landlord set their home on fire due to being behind on rent. 

Morrison said her family responded to this act by laughing at the landlord’s actions, which taught her how laughter can restore a sense of personal integrity.

Her family instilled in her an appreciation and understanding of African American culture, including folk stories and songs. This appreciation for storytelling and language was followed by Morrison’s love for the works of Jane Austen and Richard Wright.

Morrison attended Howard University in 1949 as a first-generation college student. Her time in Washington, D.C., marked the first time in her life that she experienced racial segregation. This time was also significant because it was during this period that Morrison began to conceive her earliest ideas for her later work, including “The Bluest Eye.”

She graduated from Howard with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1953 and later attended Cornell University and earned a master’s degree in American literature in 1957. Morrison worked as an editor for Random House and eventually began writing, starting with her first novel, “The Bluest Eye,” at age 39. 

Morrison received critical success for her first few novels, including “Sula” in 1973 and “Song of Solomon” in 1977, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. From then on, she worked as a writer full-time.

In 1993, Morrison was the first Black American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. She also won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel “Beloved.” 

As an aspiring writer, I find the fact that Morrison started to make a name and find success in the middle of her life to be reassuring. I often feel a need to accomplish my goals as soon as possible; Morrison showed success can come at any age, so long as you continue perfecting your craft. 

Morrison’s writing explored subjects such as colorism, self-image and self-loathing. Many of the characters found in her work embody an internal struggle many Black individuals, including myself, have dealt with: basing your self-image as a minority on the perceptions and attitudes of others around you. 

Seeing these themes explored helps to give perspective on feelings or thoughts that have come up personally for me and thousands of Black readers across the last 50 years.

A recurring element I see reflected in Morrison’s work is self-assurance in the face of hate. This understanding of who you are is something I deeply respect about her.

Morrison died on Aug. 5, 2019, at 88 years old. I, alongside many Black readers across several generations, am grateful she decided to take some time from editing and share her thoughts with the world. She is a testament to ageless Black female brilliance and a titan of Black culture and the written word. Through her work, she will live on forever.