Critically acclaimed author Toni Morrison received the National Book Critics Circle Award for her book Song of Solomon on this day in 1978. This brought Morrison national recognition to her works that center on an array of characters set in the Black experience.

Before being honored for this particular work, Morrison had created a name for herself with her books The Bluest Eye (1969) and Sula (1973). 

Morrison, born Chloe Anthony Wofford, graduated from Howard University in 1953 and eventually became a professor of English at Yale University and Barnard College. She was also an editor at Random House. Morrison's Beloved was adapted as a film and received a Pulitzer Prize in 1987. 

Toni Morrison passed away in 2019 at 88 years old.