The Ohio Connection

• The daughter of Alabama sharecroppers who migrated north, Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio on February 18, 1931. Her parents, George and Ramah, gave their second child the name of Chloe Anthony Wofford. During college and weary of hearing her name mispronounced, Morrison changed her name to Toni.
• Morrison graduated with honors from Lorain High School in 1949. Later she would return to Lorain to work in publishing, before her move to Random House in New York.
• Morrison has been honored repeatedly by the Ohioana Library Association, including the 1999 Ohio Favorite Author award, and the 2004 Ohioana Book Award for her novel, Love.