An Advocate for Black Voices

Celebrated on a 2023 stamp, Toni Morrison (1931–2019) was acclaimed for her novels, including Song of Solomon and Beloved, but her advocacy of African American culture began even before she had published a word of her own.

In 1968, she became the first African American senior editor at Random House, where she prioritized the publication of books by prominent African American authors. Eager to see the previously unheard stories of African American women portrayed in fiction, she published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970.

After becoming a Harvard professor and a Nobel laureate, Morrison continued to write novels while exploring other genres and forms.

She published three collections of lectures about literature and race, edited books about political and social issues, published a volume of poems, and wrote or co-authored a number of children’s books. She wrote plays as well, most notably collaborating with a renowned stage director and a Malian musician on Desdemona, a fresh look at the Othello story.

No matter the genre, she never wavered from her purpose: bringing attention to important stories that had for too long gone untold.