#sumner library

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Gary N. Sudduth and the Sudduth African American History and Culture Collection at Sumner Library

Gary Neil Sudduth, a longtime Minneapolis Northside resident, was a widely respected civil rights leader, a champion of public libraries, and a strong believer in the importance and power of books and reading for all people, especially children.

Sudduth was an appointed member of the Minneapolis Library Board from 1980 until his untimely death in 1997 at age 44. He served as president of the library board in 1991 and 1992, and was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science in 1994.

Sudduth was an active community leader from an early age. As a senior at North High School in 1971 he was a member of the N-Club (an athletes lettermen club), Student Council, Senior Committees, Track, Wrestling, Basketball, and Football. He earned a Bachelor of Elected Studies degree with a concentration in Social Work and History from the University of Minnesota and began his career as a group worker for the Hennepin County Detention Center in 1975. The next year he began working for the Minneapolis Urban League holding various roles including Street Academy Director, Vice President for Community Outreach and Advocacy Programs, and in 1992 was appointed President/CEO.

He was instrumental in organizing a cooperative effort between the Urban League and Minneapolis Public Library to motivate African American students to read more and improve reading skills. He negotiated for black police officers, fought for a new school superintendent who would support the fight against academic failure in the black community, and he even hosted a channel 5 television program “On the Other Hand.” They called him “the Mayor of North Minneapolis.”

In February, 1998, the African American History and Culture Collection at Sumner Library was renamed in Sudduth’s honor. The Sudduth Memorial Fund allows for continued growth of the collection, which includes over 5,000 fiction, non-fiction, and audiobook titles for children, teens, and adults. Items may be checked out. Visit Sumner Library to see the collection (611 Van White Memorial Blvd., phone: [phone]).

Strengths of the collection include:

African background and cultural heritage of North Americans

Slavery

Free blacks

Antislavery movement and abolitionists

Emancipation and reconstruction

Discrimination

Civil rights movement

African American biography

African American fiction and literature

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Happy 100th, Sumner Library: A Look Back at the Library Move

In 1938, the Sumner Branch of the Minneapolis Public Library was on the move, quite literally. The branch library, constructed in 1915, had to be relocated 100 feet north of its original location at 6th Ave. N and Emerson to accommodate the widening of 6th Ave. N (now known as Olson Memorial Highway).

How was this accomplished in 1938? With a jack and a crew of six men, of course! In her 1938 annual report, Sumner Branch Librarian Adelaide Rood wrote, “The distance, one hundred feet directly north from the original location, was covered one-eighth of an inch at a time, by a crew of six men each turning a large jack at the ringing command of the foreman to ‘Go ahead!’ It was, to the layman, a major feat of delicate engineering.”

Moving the library cost $32,000, which was $7,000 more than it cost to build the library in 1915. During the move, the library’s periodicals were covered with canvas and the book shelves were covered with newspapers. Much to the library staffs’ relief, the move was successful and the building and materials were preserved without damage.

The move wasn’t the only big event for Sumner Library in 1938. That same year, a new addition was built on the north side of the library, which housed an office and a reference room. The library was acquiring new patrons daily as residents began occupying the newly constructed Sumner Field Homes.

2015 is another milestone year for Sumner Library as the library turns 100 years old this year. To mark the occasion, Sumner Library is hosting a centennial celebration on Saturday, October 10th from 12-4 p.m. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this fantastic community library!

In the meantime, if you’d like to see more photos of Sumner Library, check out these photos in Minnesota Reflections.

Learn more about the history of Sumner Library on Wikipedia.

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Maya Angelou at Sumner Library, Minneapolis, September 25, 1981

Maya Angelou visited Minneapolis Public Library in September, 1981 as part of "Minneapolis: Portrait of a Lifestyle," a National Endowment for the Humanitites Learning Library program. She made three presentations at the downtown library on September 24: she read from her 4th autobiography, "The Heart of a Woman;" later in the afternoon she spoke about the courage of 19th and 20th century women writers and ended her day with "An Evening With Maya Angelou," which featured dramatic readings, poetry and discussion.

Summer Library hosted Angelou on the next day, September 25, 1981.  At Sumner Library, Angelou spoke about using poetry as a strategy for survival and a discussion followed.

Images are from the Minneapolis Public Library photo archives.

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TCDP TOP PICK: An opportunity to catch powerhouse performer T. Mychael Rambo is not to be missed even when it means buying a ticket. So, take a heads-up and get in on a good thing: fresh off a successful, month-long gig in Aida at the Pantages Theater, he's singing, as Joni Mitchell put it, real good for free at Sumner Library in My Soul Looks Back. Rambo will have a few friends along for this celebration of Black History Month that'll include, along with songs, poetry and stories about African America's hand in helping to shape the nation. 

-Dwight Hobbes