Biscuitville Fresh Southern, a local family-owned restaurant widely known for its authentic, Southern cooking, is celebrating Black History Month by honoring two North Carolinians:  Toni Morrison and Rhiannon Giddens.  During February, Biscuitville is giving away commemorative bookmarks about the two women to customers while supplies last.  The bookmarks, which provide information about Morrison and Giddens, also contain a coupon for a free sausage biscuit from Biscuitville.

In addition to the bookmarks, Biscuitville will give away a gift basket to one person randomly selected from those who have posted comments to Biscuitville’s Facebook page between February 16 and February 29 about inspiration from Morrison’s or Gidden’s accomplishments. The gift basket includes a set of three Morrison books, a three-CD set of Giddens’ music, a gift card from Biscuitville and other assorted Biscuitville merchandise.

Morrison was an award-winning novelist and editor known for exploring black culture and identity in America, especially the struggles of black women. Born Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, she became the first black female editor in fiction at Random House publishing in New York and later taught for years at Princeton. Morrison won the National Book Critics Circle Award for “Song of Solomon” in 1977 and the Pulitzer Prize for “Beloved” (later made into a movie) in 1988. She was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2012.

Giddens is a founding member, lead singer as well as fiddle and banjo player of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. Born in Greensboro in 1977, she graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and later Oberlin College, where she studied opera. In 2015, Giddens released her debut solo album, “Tomorrow Is My Turn,” to critical acclaim. With the Carolina Chocolate Drops, she was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Giddens is known for performing opera, jazz, and bluegrass–a genre where she has shattered stereotypes–and even acting, on the TV show “Nashville.” In 2019, she released two collaborative albums, “Songs of Our Native Daughters” and “There Is No Other.”