As Offered

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. R. No. 339

2025-2026

Representative Miller, J.

A R E S O L U T I O N

Recognizing Toni Morrison Day in Ohio, February 18, 2026.

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the 136th General Assembly of Ohio are pleased to recognize February 18, 2026, as Toni Morrison Day in Ohio; and

WHEREAS, Among the very finest people to ever call our state home and the first and so far only African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, Toni Morrison established herself as one of the most renowned authors our nation has ever produced. Her work and its place in the American canon are imbued in her legacy, and through her stories, she has set an example of kindness, generosity, courage, and eloquence for all of humanity to strive toward; and

WHEREAS, No list of accomplishments could begin to do Toni Morrison justice, and her experiences as an Ohioan shaped the woman who would go on to give so much to the world. Born in Lorain to a working class family on February 18, 1931, she endured the cruelties of the era to attend Howard University, and she served as a professor and an editor before ultimately fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer when her first book was published in 1970. Acclaim would soon follow and would continue through the whole of her life, including her being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in addition to countless other accolades; and

WHEREAS, To see the impact of stories and storytellers, one only needs to look at Toni Morrison’s innumerable contributions to our society. Her writing and editing broke barriers and opened doors, not just for her but for other African Americans who could look up and see a face like theirs on the highest stages of literature. Her books allow people to not only come to know her and therein come to know a part of themselves but also to realize the potential contained within everyone, to chronicle the sins of our nation’s past for future generations to remember and understand, and to never cease to move others, be it to tears, to action, or to just simply be better; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the 136th General Assembly of Ohio, in adopting this Resolution, recognize February 18, 2026, as Toni Morrison Day in Ohio and salute Toni Morrison as a shining light for countless Ohioans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this Resolution to the news media of Ohio.