As America nears its 250th birthday, the state of Ohio will commemorate the milestone with a yearlong initiative celebrating literary icon Toni Morrison.
Starting Feb. 18, 2026, in Columbus and running through Morrison’s 2027 birthday in her hometown of Lorain, the Buckeye State will honor the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author with events celebrating her work and the many artists she inspired, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
“Beloved: Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison” was organized by Ohio Humanities and Literary Cleveland and planned alongside the nationwide effort to commemorate America’s 250th birthday next year through yearlong America250 celebrations.
“Our ambition is for every person in Ohio—young and old—to engage with Toni Morrison’s life, literature, and legacy over the next year,” said Literary Cleveland executive director Matt Weinkam. “This is our opportunity to celebrate the greatest artist in our state’s history.”
Rebecca Asmo, executive director of Ohio Humanities, called the initiative a chance to honor a great American and introduce more readers to her work. Morrison, the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote 11 novels exploring the Black American experience before her death in 2019 at age 88.
Many of her works drew from her home state, with The Bluest Eye set in Lorain and Beloved in Cincinnati. Organizers hope the celebration will deepen connections to her legacy ahead of what would have been her 100th birthday in 2031.
“What you get is an opportunity to really look at American history and America’s struggle to become a more perfect union through the lens of Morrison’s literature,” Asmo said. “She was a staunch advocate for literature and art as an important part of a strong civic fabric and a strong democracy. That was a foundational idea of this.”
The yearlong tribute will feature public readings of Morrison’s works, author talks, writing contests, performances, film screenings, and city-specific events reflecting her influence. An interactive website will provide program details, reading and discussion guides, podcasts, and a statewide events calendar.
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