T oni Morrison (1931–2019) was a novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor who broke barriers: she was the first Black woman to become senior fiction editor for Random House, and the first Black woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

In 1967, Morrison began at Random House where she played a vital role in bringing Black literature into the mainstream. During that period, Morrison began writing fiction informally. She recalled her parents instilling a great sense of heritage and language throughout her childhood, often telling traditional African-American folktales, ghost stories, and songs. These early influences are evident in her fiction novels, which focus on the vivid portrayals of the Black female experience. Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye—published in 1970, was inspired by a short story about a Black girl who longed to have blue eyes. Her critically acclaimed book Song of Solomon brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for her book Beloved. It was made into a feature-length film in 1994 and co-produced by National Women’s Hall of Fame 1994 Inductee Oprah Winfrey, who spent ten years adapting the book for the screen.

Toni Morrison indelibly demonstrated that great literature is neither bound to be written by men, nor penned exclusively by people of European descent. She fostered a new generation of Black writers, including Toni Cade Bambara—poet, Angela Davis—NWHF 2019 Inductee, political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author, and Gayl Jones—novelist. She has been unapologetic about her focus on Black people’s experiences, and the power with which she brought this focus earned her the moniker “The Conscience of America.”

Biography provided by the National Women’s Hall of Fame