#black libraries

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Fugitive Libraries

In what ways do libraries act as ‘instruments of social control,’ and how could they be made into instruments of restoration, reparation, or

The Rise of Black Libraries

In the 18th century, when slavery stretched across the Northern and Southern colonies, enslaved people were sometimes taught to read so they could learn the Gospel. But as abolitionist movements gained power, slaveholders began to see literacy as a threat and forbade the reading or possession of books. 13 In free states, African Americans who were barred from libraries and other educational spaces created their own institutions. Between 1828 and 1841, no fewer than nine Black literary societies and social libraries opened in Philadelphia, and there were dozens more throughout the North, dedicated to the “restoration” and the moral and intellectual “improvement” of Black communities. These spaces often combined reading, writing, and activism. The circulating library of the Garrison Literary and Benevolent Association, founded in 1834 in New York City, for example, included books about abolition and colonialism. 14 Historian Michelle Garfield has shown that spaces like these empowered Black women, in particular, to engage in political discussions about self-determination and freedom. 15 And some of these Black feminist activists later became public librarians. Ernestine Rose, appointed director of the New York Public Library’s 135th Street branch in 1920, hired many pioneering female librarians of color — among them Catherine Allen Latimer, Nella Larsen, Regina Anderson Andrews, and Pura Belpré — and made the library into a hub for the Harlem Renaissance. 16

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Little Known Black History Fact: Mayme Agnew Clayton

Little Known Black History Fact: Mayme Agnew Clayton

EPSON MFP image The late Mayme Agnew Clayton was a librarian and historian who founded the Western States Black Research and Education Center, which bills itself as the largest collection of African-American historical items in the world. Dr. Agnew’s collection, which was amassed over four decades, is housed in the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum in Culver City, Ca. Clayton was born Mayme…

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OPIUM LORD : BLACK LIBRARIES

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What began as a conversation with her landlord, a retired genealogist, about Sedalia, MO and vintage shops turned into a discussion on African American pianist and composer Scott Joplin, the “King of Ragtime,” who moved to Sedalia, MO in 1894 prior to his move to St. Louis, MO in 1901. This small detail prompted Keeton to search for black history and her google search led her to Rose M. Nolen’s library. Writer and academic art librarian kYmberly Keeton takes a moment to reflect on her introduction to black history in Sedalia, MO during her visit to The Rose M. Nolen Library and Center for African American Studies.

Author, Activist, and Award-Winning Journalist Rose M. Nolen (1935-2015) | Photo: The Sedalia Observer (formerly the Sedalia News Journal)

By kYmberly Keeton, MLIS

My Experience Today [June 4, 2015]:

I walked into the Rose M. Nolen Black History Library (Sedalia, Missouri) today and was kind of shocked to see three white ladies behind desks and doing all kinds of stuff in a black library – honestly I am skeptical when it comes to our history and who is preserving it. Well, I want you to know that I had no ill feelings about their spirits, because they jumped at me with love when I walked in. Yes, I am human too. This is why I am sharing this with you this evening. And, I am still saddened that I did not get to meet Ms. Rose; she died in January of this year (Liver Cancer).

Dr. Marge Harlen (front) with other staff members at the Rose M. Nolan Black History Library. They continue to keep Ms. Nolen’s library and legacy alive in Sedalia, MO. | Photo by Kym Keeton.

Dr. Marge Harlen met Ms. Rose some years ago. Ms. Rose was about to lose her home and Dr. Harlen stepped in and bought her home and helped her move into an apartment. Dr. Harlen and her husband then bought the land as well and rebuilt the home of Ms. Nolen and then transformed it into a library — what you saw today with regard to the photos. Dr. Harlen is sitting down in the picture that I have posted below this commentary (the one that features the staff). She asked me my history and how I came to be a librarian today. She then asked me how I liked Missouri – being that I am from Texas. I told her that it is very different and she obliged my sentiments.

But, what got to my spirit — was that I was looking at a woman who was/is a Civil Rights Leader in Sedalia, MO. She told me more about her history and how she has had to fight the post office in the little town to get more African American stamps so she can mail off her flyers for visitors to come check out the library. I chuckled – yes, a white woman is telling the USPS what to do about our history! I explained to her that I wanted to help in any way that she needed me. The library is one of the best special libraries that I have ever seen, and they are making things happen with no support from the state or city.

I just want you to know today — that you don’t know who is going to share your legacy when you die. You have no clue as to who is going to tell your story.

Rose Nolen’s Mid-Missouri Black Watch, established in 1992, was a newsletter on African American history and culture edited and published quarterly by Ms. Nolen. | Photo by kYm Keeton

A classic title that kYM came across in Ms. Nolen’s library. The Black Book, first published in 1974, is an important work that provides a visual and textual history of the African American experience and demonstrates the elaborate art and practice of collecting, arranging, writing, and exhibiting black history in “scrapbook” form. The Black Book was co-edited by collectors Middleton A. Harris, Morris Levitt, Roger Furman, and Ernest Smith with Toni Morrison as an in-house editor. | Photo by kYm Keeton

Shown here is an African American theater seat from the historic Uptown Theater in downtown Sedalia. Prior to 1954, public buildings in Sedalia, MO were segregated and black audiences were often required to sit in the balcony. Ms. Nolen sat in this very seat as a reporter on a weekly and sometimes monthly basis. | Photo by kYm Keeton

During Nolen’s career she wrote for the Columbia Missourian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Sedalia Democrat and contributed to several other publications. In 1989 she was named as the state’s best columnist by the Missouri Press Association. Additionally, she authored two books: Hoecakes, Hambone, and All That Jazz African American Traditions in Missouri and African Americans in Mid-Missouri: From Pioneers to Ragtimers. | Photo by kYm Keeton

I just want you to know today — that you don’t know who is going to share your legacy when you die. You have no clue as to who is going to tell your story. My lesson today — continue to be open minded in the midst of racism in this country. There were a lot of white people that stood up for us and still do. I will be forever grateful that Dr. Harlen has preserved the legacy of an outstanding African American writer, non-traditional librarian, advocate for change, and author: Rose M. Nolen will be remembered forever.

kYmberly Keeton, MLIS, is a writer, artist, Academic Art Librarian, Assistant Professor, and Information Literacy Coordinator for the Inman E. Page Library at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. She authors and manages several blogs including kreativeYoungmillionaire and Blackness Personified | The Chronicles of an HBCU Librarian, has a forthcoming book The Literary Osmosis: Black Themes, Black Dreams, Black Heroes (December 2017), and plans to volunteer with the Rose M. Nolen Library. You can connect and learn more about her work on Twitter/IG: @kymizsofly or the hashtag #blacklibrariansrock .

#BLACKLIBRARIESMATTER What began as a conversation with her landlord, a retired genealogist, about Sedalia, MO and vintage shops turned into a discussion on African American pianist and composer Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime," who moved to Sedalia, MO in 1894 prior to his move to St.