Julia Agnes Washington Bond (1908-2007), a 1929 graduate of Fisk University, was a librarian at both Atlanta University's Robert W. Woodruff Library and Trevor Arnett Library (Atlanta University is now Clark-Atlanta University). Mrs. Bond received her library science degree from the Atlanta University Library School when she was 56 years old. She was the mother of former Georgia state representative and NAACP chairman Julian Bond (born Horace Julian Bond), and the wife of noted educator Horace Mann Bond (1904-1972).
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Mrs. Bond was born June 20, 1908 to George Elihu and Daisy Agnes Turner Washington. Both of her parents were educators and were alumni of Fisk University. After graduating from Pearl High School in 1924, she studied English at Fisk University. In 1929, Mrs. Bond received her bachelor's degree in English and married Horace Mann Bond, a professor she met while attending Fisk.
In 1945, her husband became the first African American to serve as president of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, a historically black college in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (near Oxford, Pennsylvania). Mr. Bond was a 1923 graduate of the university (he was born in 1904 in Nashville, Tennessee; his parents were alumni of Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio). Mr. Bond also attended the University of Chicago where he received both his master's and doctorate degrees.
Before serving as president of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Bond taught at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma; was the first dean of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana; and served as president of Fort Valley State College for Negroes in Fort Valley, Georgia (the college is now Fort Valley State University).
In 1957, Mr. Bond became dean of the School of Education at Atlanta University. Mr. Bond remained at Atlanta University until his retirement in 1971. He passed away on December 21, 1972.
Mrs. Bond continued working as a librarian at Atlanta University until she retired at the age of 92 in 2000. She died on November 2, 2007 at the age of 99 and is buried at South View Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.
*Notes:
During the mid-1930s, Julia Agnes Washington Bond and her husband co-wrote "The Star Creek Papers", which documented the life of African Americans in Washington Parish, Louisiana. It was finally published by the University of Georgia Press in 1997 (a later edition was published in 2011).
The Atlanta University Library School was founded in 1941. Eliza Atkins Gleason, the first African American to receive a PhD in library science was the school's first dean. Atlanta University merged with Clark College to become Clark-Atlanta University on July 1, 1988. The library school at Clark-Atlanta University closed in 2005.
Atlanta University's Robert W. Woodruff Library, where Mrs. Bond worked, houses the personal African American history collection of Henry Proctor Slaughter (1871-1958). Mr. Slaughter served as the compositor for the United States Government Printing Office from 1896 to 1937. In addition, he was a bibliophile, collector of African American history, and newspaper editor. To learn more about Henry Proctor Slaughter, see the following post:
Henry Proctor Slaughter: Compositor for the United States Government Printing Office, Bibliophile, Collector, and Newspaper Editor.
Update 02/06/2013:
YouTube has an episode of the 1950's CBS news program "Longines Chronoscope" in which Horace Mann Bond and Rufus E. Clement discuss racial segregation of colleges and universities in the United States. Click the link below to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeXXg4w-uFQ
At the time of this news program, Rufus E. Clement was the president of Atlanta University and Horace Mann Bond was the president of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.
Update 08/16/2015:
Julian Bond (1940-2015), the couple's son, passed away on Saturday, August 15, 2015. Born Horace Julian Bond, Julian Bond once served as chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was a co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, served in the Georgia Legislature, worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and was a graduate of Morehouse College. News of Julian Bond's death appeared in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/us/julian-bond-former-naacp-chairman-and-civil-rights-leader-dies-at-75.html
See related posts: Librarian Education: Eliza Atkins Gleason, 1st African American to Earn PhD in Library Science. ; The Educator and the Librarian: Dr. Charles E. Rochelle and Thelma N. Rochelle
Sources: Jordan, Casper Leroy. "Georgia Peaches and Cream: Afro-American Librarians in the State of Georgia." Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Durham: NCCU School of Library Service, 1980. 34. Print. ; "Julia Agnes Washington Bond, Librarian, Educator, Administrator Dies at 99." The Black Commentator 252 (2007): n. pag. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. ; "Julia Agnes Washington Bond, 99; Mother of Civil Rights Leader Julian Bond." LA Times. LA Times, 7 Nov. 2007. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. ; "NAACP Mourns Loss of Julia Washington Bond." NAACP Press Room. NAACP, 31 Dec. 2007. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. ; "Julia Bond Biography." The History Makers. The History Makers, 14 Oct. 2006. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. ; "Died." Jet 112.23 (2007): 57. Print. ; "Educator Horace Mann Bond Dies in Ga. Nursing Home." Jet 43.16 (1973): 9. Print. ; "Obituaries in the News." USA Today (Online). USA Today, 6 Nov. 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. ; "Julian Bond's Mother Helped Husband in Career: Julia Agnes Washington Bond." Sarasota Herald-Tribune 7 Nov. 2007: 8B. Print. ; Huff, Christopher Allen. "Horace Mann Bond (1904-1972)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press, 1 June 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. ; White, Claytee D. "Bond, Horace Mann (1904-1972)." BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. ; Freightman, Connie Green. "Historically Black College Closes Its Library Studies Program." The Crisis 112.1 (2005): 10. Print. ; Adams, Luther. "Bond, Horace Julian (1940-)." BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. ; "Other Deaths." Denver Post.com. The Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. ; Hound, Catahoula. "Julia Agnes Washington Bond." Find A Grave. FindAGrave.com, 18 Sept. 2012. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. ; Reed, Roy. "Julian Bond, Former N.A.A.C.P Chairman and Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 75." New York Times (Online). New York Times, 15 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.
The Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the Muskogee Carnegie Library (now the Muskogee Public Library) was founded in 1913 in Muskogee, Oklahoma as the Muskogee Colored Library. The library was built through the efforts of the Frances Harper Club and served the African American residents of Muskogee. The library was housed in the Love Building until 1916 when it was moved to South 2nd Street. In 1920, the library moved to 503 North Fourth Street (this building was also the meetinghouse for the Negro Women's Federated Club). It became a branch of the Muskogee Carnegie Library in 1921. In 1931, the library was renamed the Phyllis Wheatley Branch. Librarians at the Phyllis Wheatley Branch included Ethel M. Tucker and Belzora A. Malvin.
In 1946, the branch moved a third time. The library's new location was 627 North Third Street (during World War II, this building was used by the United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO) -- a service organization founded in 1941 as an initiative encouraged by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to inspire morale among personnel in the armed forces). The Phyllis Wheatley Branch continued providing library services until it ceased operations in 1972. After the Phyllis Wheatley Branch closed, its materials were transferred to the newly built Muskogee Public Library. The former Phyllis Wheatley Branch is now the Martin Luther King Community Center and in 2010 became the headquarters of the Muskogee Chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
*Update 01/07/2013:
Note: The Muskogee Carnegie Library opened in 1914 at 401 E. Broadway (corner of Broadway and D Streets) with a grant of $60,000 from Andrew Carnegie (his brother-in-law, Henry D. Whitfield, served as the library's architect). The Muskogee Carnegie Library remained in operation until 1972 when it was replaced with a new building, the Muskogee Public Library, at 801 W. Okmulgee Street (the new building was built with a grant of $465,000 from the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA); the city contributed an additional $750,000). The Carnegie building is now the headquarters for the Ark of Faith Foundation, Inc.
See related post: Judith Carter Horton and the Excelsior Library of Guthrie, Oklahoma.
*Update 04/13/2013:
The Muskogee Cimeter was a newspaper created for the African American residents of Muskogee, Oklahoma. This newspaper is briefly mentioned in a post made by Angela Y. Walton-Raji on April 9, 2013 on her blog, The African-Native American Genealogy Blog:
Old Muskogee Newspaper Reveals Indian Freedmen Population. Greater Need for Study Emerges
http://african-nativeamerican.blogspot.com/2013/04/muskogee-newspaper-reveal-indian.html
Sources: "Muskogee Public Library." OLA Celebrates the Oklahoma Centennial. Oklahoma Library Association, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. ; Totten, Herman L. "Put Sinews in the Wings of the Eagle." The Black Librarian in America. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1977. 216-217. Print.. ; Spaulding, Cathy. "NAACP, Ministers Union Began Management of King Center." Muskogee Phoenix 20 Sept. 2010: n.pag. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. ; "Muskogee Public Library." Muskogee Public Library - Libraries on Waymarking.com. Waymarking, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. ; Robbins, Louise S. The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 2001. 39-40. Print. ; Reports of the Oklahoma Library Commission, Sept. 15, 1919-June 30, 1920 and Survey of Public Libraries of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City: Warden Company, 1922. 12-13, 20, 28-29, 43, 69-70, 86, 96-97. Print. ; Library Services and Construction Act: A Compilation As of February 11, 1964,
of the Library Services Act (p. L. 597, 84th Congress; 20 U.s.c. Chap. 16) As
Amended by P. L. 896, 84th Congress; P. L. 86-679; P. L. 87-688; and P. L.
88-269; and As Renamed the Library Services and Construction Act. Washington,
D.C.: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education,
1964. Print. ; Bell, Roger. Images of America: Muskogee. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2011. 60. Print. ; "Carnegie Libraries: Oklahoma's Treasures." Trustee Talk (Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries, Office of Library Development) 8 (Sept. 2004): 12. Print. ; Ark of Faith Foundation, Inc. Ark of Faith, 2012. Web. 7 Jan. 2013. ; Eastern Oklahoma District Library System - Muskogee Public Library. Muskogee Public Library, n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2013. ; "The Circulating Library the Only One of Its Kind in the State." Muskogee Cimeter (Muskogee, Indian Territory, Oklahoma) 29 Jan. 1909:4. Print.
Mary Louise Lambert Pickett (1919-1979) was the first African American librarian hired by the Milwaukee Public Library. Ms. Pickett began her tenure at the Milwaukee Public Library on July 1, 1946. Previously, Ms. Pickett worked at the Chicago Public Library (1945-1946) and at Dillard University (1942-1943). She received her Master of Library Science (MLS) from the University of Chicago in 1944. Ms. Pickett was a member of Delta Sigma Theta, the Wisconsin Library Association, the NAACP, and the Young Adult Services Division of the American Library Association. She passed away in 1979.
*Note: The Young Adult Services Division (YASD) of the American Library Association is now the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).
Sources: Milwaukee Public Library ; Grant, George, comp. "Pickett, Mary Louise Lambert." The Directory of Ethnic Professionals in LIS. Winter Park: Four-G Publishers, 1991. 179-180. Print. ; "Mary L. Pickett." Wisconsin Death Index, 1959-1997. FamilySearch.org., n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2014.
