Julia Bullock Gaddy (1921-2010): Librarian at Hampton Institute and the Detroit Public Library

Julia Bullock Gaddy was born Julia Amanda Bullock on September 3, 1921, in Boston, Massachusetts to Matthew Washington Bullock and Katherine H. Wright Bullock.  She was the youngest of two children. 

Gaddy's father, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, taught at the Atlanta Baptist College (Morehouse College) and at State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes (Alabama A & M University); was an assistant attorney general, and the first African American to serve as chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Appeals.

Gaddy attended Fisk University where she graduated cum laude in 1941. She also attended Simmons College School of Library Science (Simmons University School of Library & Information Science), receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Library Science in 1942.  That same year, Gaddy was hired as a circulation librarian at Hampton Institute (Hampton University) in Hampton, Virginia.

On December 23, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, she married George W. Gaddy, an educator, basketball coach, and graduate of Fisk University. The couple had two children.

On March 1, 1944, Gaddy was appointed junior library assistant at the Detroit Public Library. She was the second African American librarian hired to work for the library.

In addition to working at the Detroit Public Library, Gaddy was active in the community and was the corresponding secretary for the West Side Human Relations Council.

Julia Bullock Gaddy passed away in 2010 at the age of 88.

Sources: "Detroit Library Appoints Second Negro Librarian." The Michigan Chronicle (Detroit, Mich.), 4 March 1944, p. 1; "Thirty Added to Faculty at Hampton." The Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch (Norfolk, Va.), 22 Sept. 1942, p. 20; "Circulation Librarian." The Afro-American, 26 Sept. 1942, p. 19; "Bullock, Julia Amanda," Massachusetts, U.S. Birth Index, 1860-1970, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com. Accessed Mar. 1, 2025; "Julia A. Gaddy," U.S. Social Security Death Index, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com. Accessed Mar. 1, 2025; "Julia A. Bullock, George W. Gaddy," Michigan, U.S. Marriage Records, 1867-1952, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com. Accessed Mar. 1, 2025; Webster, Edlee. "Detroit Spotlight." The Afro-American, 8 Jan. 1944, p. 17; Webster, Edlee. "Detroit Spotlight." The Afro-American, 18 Mar. 1944, p. 13; "Julia Amanda Bullock, A.B." Simmons College Register of Officers and Students, 1942-1943. Simmons College, 1942, p. 31; "Fisk Exercises Open Saturday: Dr. Jones to Deliver Closing Address; 79 Are Candidates." The Nashville Tennessean (Nashville, Tenn.), 30 May 1941, p. 24; "30 New Members of Hampton Faculty as New Semester Begins," The New York Age (New York, N.Y. : 1887), 26 Sept. 1942, p. 12; "Greater Boston Society," The Afro-American, 18 July 1942, p. 19; Neal, Anthony. "The Multitalented Matthew Washington Bullock." The Bay State Banner (Roxbury, Mass.), 9 Feb. 2017, https://baystatebanner.com/.  Accessed Mar. 1, 2025; "Matthew Bullock Dies: Ex-Parole Board Chief," Hartford Currant (Hartford, Conn.), 20 Dec. 1972, p. 86; Gaddy, Matthew. "George W. Gaddy III (1916-1997)," Facebook, www.facebook.com. Accessed Mar. 1, 2025; "The Fisk Club Annual Party." The Michigan Chronicle (Detroit, Mich.),  3 June 1944, p. 9; "New Director and Personnel Asked by Bill." The Michigan Chronicle (Detroit, Mich.),  23 June 1945, p. 5; "Local Fisk University Club Entertains School President," The Detroit Tribune (Detroit, Mich.), 10 May 1947, p. 7; "George Gaddy, 81 (Obituary)." Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Mich.), 5 Dec. 1997, p. 118.

A Brief History of Conferences for African American Librarians: The First and Second Negro Library Conferences

As members of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) prepare for the 8th National Conference of African American Librarians (NCAAL) being held next week (August 7-11, 2013) in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, here are some brief facts on two conferences held for African American librarians during the early half of the 20th century:

The First Negro Library Conference

The First Negro Library Conference was held March 15-18, 1927 at the Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in Hampton, Virginia. Forty librarians were in attendance. Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue, director of the Colored Branches of the Louisville Free Public Library, was the conference organizer.

Keynote Speakers:

Edward Christopher Williams -- Howard University
Florence Rising Curtis -- Hampton Institute Library School
Herbert S. Hirshberg -- State Librarian of Ohio
Louis Shores --  Fisk University
Rachel Davis Harris -- Eastern Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library

Update 08/02/2013: There is a photo of attendees at the First Negro Library Conference on Flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/6758169905/in/set-72157623915774564/

Sources: Curtis, Florence Rising. "Colored Librarians in Conference." Library Journal 52.8 (1927): 408. Print. ; "Personals." Library Occurrent 8.2 (1927): 66. Print. ; Jordan, Casper Leroy, and E.J. Josey. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2006. 6. Print. ; Battles, David M. The History of Public Library Access for African Americans in the South or, Leaving Behind the Plow. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2009. 60. Print. ; Jones, Reinette. Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky: From the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. 54. Print. ; "Prominent Woman Returns." Indianapolis Recorder 2 Apr. 1927: 5. Print.

The Second Negro Library Conference
 

The Second Negro Library Conference was held November 20-23, 1930 in Nashville, Tennessee at Fisk University. The number of librarians believed to have attended was 71. Louis Shores, head librarian of Fisk University, served as the chair of the conference committee.

Keynote Speakers:

Wallace Van Jackson  -- Virginia Union University
Tommie Dora Barker  -- American Library Association
Robert M. Lester -- Carnegie Corporation
Arthur Schomburg -- New York Public Library
Monroe N. Work -- Tuskegee Institute
Louis R. Wilson -- University of North Carolina
Adam Strohm -- President of the American Library Association

*A group photo of the attendees of the Second Negro Library Conference is included on page 310 of the following article:  Shores, Louis. "Library Service to Negroes." Wilson Bulletin 5.5 (Jan. 1931): 310-315.Print.

  You can also see a larger version of the same photo in the following book:

Cohen, Rodney T. Fisk University. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2001. 20-21.Print.

Sources: Shores, Louis. "Negro Library Conference Held." Library Journal 56.1 (Jan. 1, 1931): 40. Print. ; Battles, David M. The History of Public Library Access for African Americans in the South or, Leaving Behind the Plow. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2009. 70. Print. ; Jones, Reinette. Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky: From the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. 56-57. Print. ; Shores, Louis. "Library Service to Negroes." Wilson Bulletin 5.5 (Jan. 1931): 310.Print. ; Cohen, Rodney T. Fisk University. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2001. 20-21.Print.

Update 02/05/2014:
(Many thanks to Karen Weaver for bringing this to my attention!)

Individuals who  served with Louis Shores (committee chair) on the Second Negro Library Conference's organizing committee were: Tommie Dora Barker, Robert M. Lester, Adam Strohm, Thomas Fountain Blue, Florence Rising Curtis, Ernestine Rose, Charlotte Templeton, and Edward C. Williams (sadly, Mr. Williams died before the conference was held).

Sources: Jones, Reinette. Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky: From the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. 88-89. Print. ; Karen Weaver.

Update 04/18/2014:

I wrote an article on Indiana librarian Lillian Haydon Childress Hall (1899-1958). Hall was an attendee at both conferences. The article appeared in the recent issue of Indiana Libraries (v. 33, no. 1). Click the link below to access:

Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print.

Update 09/10/2014:

You can learn more about Louis Shores (conference chair of the Second Negro Library Conference and former head librarian at Fisk University) in the following book:

Shiflett, Orvin Lee. Louis Shores: Defining Educational Librarianship. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1996. Print.

Arna Wendell Bontemps: Fisk University Librarian, Poet, and Author

Arna W. Bontemps (1902-1973), a native of Alexandria, Louisiana, was the first African American to serve as University Librarian for Fisk University (1943-1965). Mr. Bontemps, a 1943 graduate of the University of Chicago Library School, was also an author, poet, and a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He passed away in 1973.

See related post: Marcus Bruce Christian (1900-1976), Louisiana Librarian

Sources: "The Negro Writer in the United States: University of  California at Berkley Plays Host to Five-Day Seminar on Negro Literature." Ebony 20.1 (1964): 126, 131-132, 134. Print. ; Jordan, Casper Leroy, and Josey, E.J. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 7. Print. ; "Arna Bontemps Named to Library Board." Jet 4.9 (1953): 51. Print. ; "Fisk's Famed Librarian, Bontemps, Moves Out of Post." Jet 28.13 (1965): 25. Print. ; "Author Arna Bontemps Dies Reading Rosary at Wake of Meharry Physician's Wife." Jet 44.13 (1973): 44. Print. ; Campbell, Dorothy Wilson. "Curators of African American Collections." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 191. Print. ; Shockley, Ann Allen. "Special Collections, Fisk University Library." Library Quarterly 58.2 (1988): 151, 154. Print. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V.  Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York: New York Public Library, 1989. 115, 129. Print. ; Jones, Kirkland C. Renaissance Man from Louisiana: A Biography of Arna Wendell Bontemps. Westport: Greenwood, 1992. Print. ; Jefferson, Julius C. “The Black Male Librarian: An Endangered Species.” The National Diversity in Libraries Conference. Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY. 3 Oct. 2008. Pdf.


Update 09/13/2012:

An additional article on Arna Wendell Bontemps:

Thompson, John Downing. "African Americans and Education: A Study of Arna Bontemps."  Syracuse University Library Associates Courier 33, [paper 342] (2001): 77-99. Print.

Update 11/17/2015:

Arna Wendell Bontemps is mentioned in a piece I wrote on Fisk University:

Fenton, Michele. "Fisk University." African American Leadership: A Concise Reference Guide. Ed. Tyson King-Meadows. [Santa Barbara, CA]: Mission Bell Media, 2015. 93-94. Print.