Toni Morrison’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, passed a resolution this week declaring her birthday, Feb. 18, as Toni Morrison Day.
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As the Morning Journal reports, the Lorain City Council passed the resolution on Tuesday honoring the author, who passed away in August.
“Her books told powerful stories of black lives in America, from the time of slavery through modern days and have been sources of inspiration for our youth,” read the resolution.
Morrison was a singular author: winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, Beloved, she was the first black woman to receive a Nobel Prize, which she accepted in 1993. Morrison also earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama in 2012.
Ken Brooks, Morrison’s nephew and a resident of Lorain, accepted the resolution on his family’s behalf.
“I’m thankful and honored to accept this resolution for my aunt, Toni Morrison, and I’m sure she’d be thankful also,” Brooks said.
Speaking of his aunt’s legacy, Brooks focused on Morrison’s emphasis on love in her literary work.
“That concept had profound positive impacts on the folks that received it,” he said. “So, I’m reminded and challenged, and I would ask you all, to extend love to your fellow neighbors when maybe it’s not the easiest thing to do.”
A similar bill to honor Morrison was introduced late last month in the Ohio statehouse.
“Her legacy is one of perseverance, dedication to education and leadership by example,” Joe Miller, one of the state reps who introduced the bill, said at the time. “I am hopeful that the designation of Toni Morrison Day will remind all Ohioans to learn from the body of work that inspired so many during her lifetime.”
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