Internationally renowned author and professor Toni Morrison died Monday, Aug. 5th, at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, her family and publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Tuesday.
Morrison was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Lorain, Ohio on Feb. 18, 1931, and became a novelist, essayist, editor, teacher, and professor emeritus at Princeton University. She was 88 when she passed away.
Her writing is celebrated for highlighting the painful history and resiliency of Black Americans. In 1993, she became the first Black woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988 for Beloved. President Barack Obama bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, on Morrison in 2012.
Her novels include Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Jazz, Paradise, God Help the Child, Home, A Mercy, and Love.
We are profoundly sad to report that Toni Morrison has died at the age of eighty-eight.
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019 pic.twitter.com/DWnElCpMKc
— Alfred A. Knopf (@AAKnopf) August 6, 2019
As is to be expected, many celebrities and notables were deeply affected by Morrison’s death and released statements expressing their condolences.
“Morrison’s novels were celebrated and embraced by booksellers, critics, educators, readers, and librarians,” her publisher Alfred A. Knopf said Tuesday, reports NBC News. “Her work also ignited controversy, notably in school districts that tried to ban her books. Few American writers won more awards for their books and writing.”
Princeton University said in a statement, “She was an extremely devoted mother, grandmother, and aunt who reveled in being with her family and friend.”
The statement continued: “The consummate writer who treasured the written word, whether her own, her students or others, she read voraciously and was most at home when writing. Although her passing represents a tremendous loss, we are grateful she had a long, well lived life.”
Many others took to Twitter to address the news.
Toni Morrison was a national treasure, as good a storyteller, as captivating, in person as she was on the page. Her writing was a beautiful, meaningful challenge to our conscience and our moral imagination. What a gift to breathe the same air as her, if only for a while. pic.twitter.com/JG7Jgu4p9t
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 6, 2019
Toni Morrison will be remembered as one of the greatest thinkers and storytellers in our history.
She gave us all so much, and her work continues to give throughout time. Thank you, Toni Morrison. https://t.co/XEDGNS7OXW
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2019
In the passing of Toni Morrison, we lost one of our greatest voices & storytellers. Holding close those touched by her being & her gift. Her work gave us power, hope & freedom. While our world shines a little less bright today, we know "something that is loved is never lost."
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 6, 2019
Toni Morrison was a towering intellect, a brilliant scribe of our nation’s complex stories, a heartbreaking journalist of our deepest desires, and a groundbreaking author who destroyed precepts, walls and those who dared underestimate her capacity. Rest well and in peace. pic.twitter.com/nMkxXRtEoz
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) August 6, 2019
"If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else." -Toni Morrison
Today we lost an American legend. May she rest in peace. https://t.co/DInZvd8stY
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 6, 2019
The Bluest Eye
Sula
Song of Solomon
Tar Baby
BelovedThese are just a few of Author and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison's work.
She was a brilliant writer who shared heartbreaking and poignant stories about Blackness in America.
May her soul rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/0a999imo8j
— The Black Caucus (@TheBlackCaucus) August 6, 2019
Today we remember Toni Morrison, a brave activist, feminist writer, and inspiring figure in literature whose works will transcend the test of time. Thank you for the legacy. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/I8bxuy3fbz
— UN Women (@UN_Women) August 6, 2019
"I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else." – Toni Morrison
— ACLU (@ACLU) August 6, 2019
Thank you for telling our stories and defending our right to be. For amplifying our truths with your words. For preserving the culture. You are forever a Black girl who rocks. Rest in power, Toni Morrison. pic.twitter.com/WuoqkByrr1
— BLACK GIRLS ROCK! (@BLACKGIRLSROCK) August 6, 2019
Today, the world lost a storyteller of unmatched empathy, elegance and power. Toni Morrison’s belief that language is the “measure of our lives” leaves an extraordinary, inspiring inheritance, and her beautiful writing will continue to be a blessing for generations to come. pic.twitter.com/cc3st7x2lM
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/1158749622359212032https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1158745114967019520
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
Holding all those touched by Toni Morrison in my heart today. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/2jkAvtaErK
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 6, 2019
She made me understand“writer” was a fine profession. I grew up wanting to be only her. Dinner with her was a night I will never forget. Rest, Queen. “Toni Morrison, seminal author who stirringly chronicled the Black American experience, dies” https://t.co/S6qxix5OCj
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) August 6, 2019
