February 2022 CEO Blog
“Love becomes our legacy.”
– Amanda Gorman’s poem The Hill We Climb
February is Black History Month, a time that provides a pause for us to learn, listen, and reflect on the legacy we want to leave for our community and beyond. We are fortunate in Lorain County to have compelling opportunities to reflect on this segment of our collective heritage. Among these programs are the Black History exhibit (recently created by the students from Leaders of Today ) and the Toni Morrison Essay Contest for Young People; I encourage you to engage in these, along with many other related events and programs throughout our community.
Here at the Community Foundation, two of our affiliate funds – the African American Community Fund and the Racial Equity Fund – have a broad-reaching impact and show our community’s commitment to supporting Lorain County’s African American community. The African American Community Fund has awarded over $325K in grants and invested $222K in student scholarships. In the first round of its grant cycle, the Racial Equity Fund awarded over $50K in grants to organizations and initiatives focused on impactful, measurable improvements in racial equity.
On February 18th, we celebrate our hometown hero Toni Morrison on Toni Morrison Day. This extraordinary woman had a worldwide impact as a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But right here in Lorain County, we have the joy and honor of calling Toni Morrison our very own hometown hero.
What better way to celebrate the essence of Toni Morrison than listening to our young people? The Lorain County Toni Morrison Essay Contest for Young People, now in its third year, prompted students to draw from Ms. Morrison’s work by considering their environment and how it has shaped their identities. Ms. Morrison was intentional in writing about Black characters, settings, and experiences and embodied the importance of creating spaces for people to be their authentic selves. The Lorain County Toni Morrison Essay Contest for Young People provides our youth with the opportunity to do just that. We hope you will take the time to read the inspiring winning essays. And who knows – perhaps one of our writers might turn out to be Lorain County’s next famous author.
When Ms. Morrison received her Nobel Prize in Literature, her wish was to establish a reading room in the Main Library of the Lorain Public Library System, where she spent much of her youth. Today our team is taking the day to engage in her favorite activity: reading. I am looking forward to diving into Recitatif a short story by Toni Morrison. I hope you take advantage of these slower, cozy days to pick up a good book on your own or read to a child. We can honor those who came before us and impacted our lives in simple yet meaningful ways.
Be sure to check in on your neighbors during these cold weeks of winter. It is up to us to create a community and legacy we can all be proud of.
Be well,
Cindy
