Ohio Launches Yearlong Celebration of Toni Morrison with February 18 Kickoff Event

Promotional image for Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison, featuring several black and white images of Morrison superimposed on a map of the Lake Erie shoreline and the outline of the state of Ohio.

On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Ohio will officially launch Beloved: Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison—a yearlong, statewide celebration honoring the life, work, and legacy of Toni Morrison—with a kickoff event at The Columbus Foundation.

About Toni Morrison and her Ohio Connections

Born in Lorain, Ohio, on February 18, 1931, Toni Morrison became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature and a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. Her eleven novels trace American history through the Black experience—from A Mercy in the 1680s to God Help the Child in the early 2000s—offering readers a journey through time and truth. Her debut novel, The Bluest Eye, is set in her hometown of Lorain; Sula takes place in a fictional Ohio town; and Beloved is set in Cincinnati. This project builds on the state of Ohio’s declaration of February 18 as Toni Morrison Day and aligns with America250, a national effort commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

About the Project

Beloved: Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison is a yearlong celebration from February 2026 through February 18, 2027, exploring the life, literature, and legacy of Toni Morrison. Led by Literary Cleveland and Ohio Humanities with support from Ohioana Library Association and the Toni Morrison Society, the program will invite all Ohioans to learn about Toni Morrison, read her work, reflect on American history, discuss the themes of her writing, and build connections across the state.

About the Kickoff in Columbus on February 18, 2026

The celebration will open on Toni Morrison Day, Wednesday, February 18, with a kickoff event at The Columbus Foundation at 5 pm ET, featuring a conversation between Namwali Serpell and Hanif Abdurraqib. Inspired by Serpell’s new book On Morrison, the conversation will explore Morrison’s lasting influence and why her work continues to matter today. The kickoff event will be live-streamed, opening the conversation to audiences across Ohio and beyond. Register for the livestream at https://bit.ly/OhioCelebratesToniMorrisonKickoff.

Additional Featured Events

The kickoff is one of four anchor events being developed by the project’s core partners. A full list of confirmed events can be found at ohiocelebratestonimorrison.org/events. Highlights include:

  • Free statewide virtual book club reading and discussing the 11 novels of Toni Morrison from February 2026-February 2027
  • Monthly essays on Toni Morrison published by Cleveland Review of Books in collaboration with the Ohio Humanities yearly publication Lumen
  • A community celebration and reading at the historic Karamu House in Cleveland in February 2026
  • Film screenings of the film Beloved at the Dayton Metro Library and Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am at East Cleveland Public Library in collaboration with America250 Ohio Goes to the Movies in February 2026
  • Storytime reaching of the children’s book Please, Louise by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison at the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library in February 2026
  • Toni Morrison reading and celebration with Cynthia Amoah, Dr. Carlotta Penn, Claudia Owusu, and Rachael “Rae” Scott at Bexley Public Library in Columbus in February 2026
  • A reading from Morrison’s novel Jazz accompanied by jazz musicians from the YSU Dana School of Music in February 2026
  • After the War: Black Veterans, Memory, and Morrison’s America with LitOfWar in Columbus in April 2026
  • A reading, live performance, and conversation celebrating Song of Solomon led by the Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers in Cleveland in June 2026
  • Margaret Garner Bus & Walking Tour in Cincinnati led by the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in September 2026
  • A visit and reading from Andrea Davis Pinkney, author of And She Was Loved: Toni Morrison’s Life in Stories at Cleveland Public Library in September 2026
  • An art festival called FireFish Festival: “Freedom Lifts Us” aligning Toni Morrison’s legacy in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain on September 19, 2026
  • Beloved-themed event in Cincinnati in January 2027
  • Closing celebration in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain on February 18, 2027

Additional regional events will be announced throughout the year, with libraries, schools, universities, cultural organizations, and community groups invited to submit programs through the online submission form at OhioCelebratesToniMorrison.org.

More Information

For event listings, volunteer opportunities, ways to host a program, or to support the celebration through donations, visit OhioCelebratesToniMorrison.org. Everyone is invited to read, gather, and engage with Toni Morrison’s work throughout this yearlong statewide celebration. Email tonimorrison@litcleveland.org to learn more.

About the Organizers

Beloved: Ohio Celebrated Toni Morrison was created and is led by Literary Cleveland and Ohio Humanities with support from the Ohioana Library Association, Ohio Center for the Book, and the Toni Morrison Society as well as funding from the George Gund Foundation and The Columbus Foundation.

Literary Cleveland is a nonprofit organization and creative writing center that empowers people to explore other voices and discover their own. Through an expanding roster of multi-level classes, workshops and events, Literary Cleveland assists writers and readers at all stages of development, promotes new and existing literature of the highest quality, and advances Northeast Ohio as a vital center of diverse voices and visions.

Ohio Humanities is a nonprofit organization that shares stories to spark conversations and inspire ideas. They host programs and award grants that support storytellers statewide, from museums to journalists to documentary filmmakers.

Organizer Quotes

“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. This is our opportunity to celebrate the greatest artist in our state’s history. Her writing challenges and inspires us as much today as when it was first published, and we can’t wait to bring it to life this year all across Ohio.”—Literary Cleveland Executive Director Matt Weinkam

“Through her incredible storytelling, Toni Morrison became a powerful advocate for the power of literature and art to promote democracy worldwide. Though she is no longer with us, her work—and her words—remain alive and more relevant than ever.”—Ohio Humanities Executive Director Rebecca Asmo

Press Contact: Kiley Kinnard
Communications Manager
Ohio Humanities
kkinnard@ohiohumanities.org