Toni Morrison Collective
Preserving the Legacy of Toni Morrison at Cornell University
About The Toni Morrison Collective
The Toni Morrison Collective is a small group of Cornell faculty and librarians, under the umbrella of Cornell University Library, whose mission is to preserve the legacy of this Nobel laureate alumna at Cornell. Beginning in October 2020, with a (covid-induced) live-streamed star-studded marathon reading of The Bluest Eye to mark the 50th anniversary of its publication, the academic and cultural events organized by the Collective have drawn enthusiastic audiences from within and beyond the Cornell community. Other past activities of the Toni Morrison Collective include a 90th-birthday virtual colloquium (2021) featuring scholars who knew and collaborated with Morrison. The Collective’s biggest program to date was a multifaceted celebration of the 30th anniversary of her Nobel Prize, consisting of a production of Morrison’s play Desdemona by the Department of Performing and Media Arts, and a book give-away and discussion series “Ithaca Reads Toni Morrison, in collaboration with Calvary Baptist Church and other community institutions.
Members
| Kofi Acree | Africana Librarian |
| Anne Adams | Africana Studies (emeritus) |
| Carole Boyce Davies | Africana Studies and Literatures in English |
| NoViolet Bulawayo | Literatures in English |
| Roger Gilbert | Literatures in English |
| Ishion Hutchinson | Literatures in English |
| Misha Innis-Thompson | Psychology |
| Mendi Obadike | Performing and Media Arts |
| Riché Richardson | Africana Studies |
| Shirley Samuels | Literatures in English |
| Marie-Claire Vallois | Romance Studies |
| Margaret Washington | History (emeritus) |
Cornell University Sponsor: Elaine Westbrooks, University Librarian
Message from the Cornell University Librarian
Libraries and archives are about truth and memory. It is only fitting that Cornell University Library be a partner to keep the legacy of Toni Morrison alive. Our imperative to build and sustain more inclusive collections makes it essential to highlight authors like Morrison, who dedicated their lives to uplifting the humanity of ‘the other.’ Morrison‘s work stands for truth. Her writings demonstrate that the purpose of literature is to hold up a mirror to our best and worst selves even when the reflection we see makes us uncomfortable. In the spirit of Morrison, libraries can and must do better for all communities who need to have access to the scholarly record to create new knowledge, solve problems, and make this world better for future generations.
Cornell University Library is proud to sponsor the Toni Morrison Collective.
Carl A. Kroch University Librarian
Cornell University
For more information, contact the Toni Morrison Collective at tonimorrisoncoll@cornell.edu.