Vivian Davidson Hewitt: First African American President of the Special Libraries Association (SLA)

Vivian Ann Davidson Hewitt (born February 17, 1920 in New Castle, Pennsylvania) was the first African American president of the Special Libraries Association (1978-1979). Ms. Hewitt received her library science degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Sciences in 1944 (the school is now the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences).  While in library school, she did her library practicum at the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library (now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture).

Vivian Ann Davidson Hewitt was also the first African American librarian to work at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1943-1949). In addition, Ms. Hewitt is believed to be Pittsburgh's first African American librarian. Ms. Hewitt was also an instructor at the library school at Atlanta University from 1949 until 1952 (Atlanta University is now Clark-Atlanta University).

After leaving Atlanta University, Ms. Hewitt worked as a researcher for the Crowell-Collier Publishing Company (1953-1955) and as chief librarian for the library of the Rockefeller Foundation (1955-1963). She later became chief librarian of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in New York City (1963-1983). In 2010, she published her autobiography, "The One and Only: Vivian Davidson Hewitt."  In May of 2011, Ms. Hewitt gave a lecture about her life, career and autobiography at the Library of Congress. She and her husband, John Hewitt, are the founders of the Hewitt Art Collection which is housed in the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Update 07/30/2012:

To view Ms. Hewitt's lecture given at the Library of Congress, click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR1hQzpYqec

Update 6/30/2022:

Vivian Davidson passed away at the age of 102 on May 29, 2022. A celebration of life service was held at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York on June 21, 2022

Sources: Hewitt, Vivian Davidson. "A Special Librarian by Design." Special Libraries 62.2 (1971): 71-81. Print. ; Hewitt, Vivian D. "Special Libraries, Librarians and the Continuing Education of Black People." What Black Librarians Are Saying. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1972. 268-274. Print. ; "Past Presidents- Special Libraries Association." Special Libraries Association, n.d. Web. 25 Sep. 2010. ; "Vivian Hewitt Biography." The History Makers. Web. 19 Dec. 2010. ; "Documenting Our History." Black Caucus of the American Library Association Newsletter 39.1 (2010): 12. Print. ; "Carnegie Mellon's Notable Alumni." Carnegie Mellon Alumni. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University, n.d. 5. Web. 19 Dec. 2010. ; Jordan, Casper Leroy and E.J. Josey. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Martha DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 13. Print. ; Hewitt, Vivian D, and Ann Rothstein-Segan. The One and Only: Vivian Ann Davidson Hewitt. San Francisco, Calif.: Blurb, 2010. Print. ; "Vivian Davidson." United States Census, 1940. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2013. ; Bobinski, George S. Libraries and Librarianship: Sixty Years of Challenge and Change, 1945-2005. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2007. 100. Print. ; Risen, Clay. "Vivian Hewitt, Who Amassed a Major Collection of Black Art, Dies at 102." New York Times June 22, 2022. Web, 30 June 2022. ; "The Gantt Center Mourns the Loss of Art Collector and Benefactor Vivian Davidson Hewitt." The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American History and Culture, n.d. Web. 30 June 2022.; "Calendar." The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, 21 June 2022. Web. 30 June 2022.

The Free Colored Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library (Knoxville, Tennessee)

The Lawson McGhee Library of Knoxville, Tennessee opened the Free Colored Carnegie Branch in 1918 to provide services for the city's African American residents. Charles Warner Cansler, a noted African American teacher and lawyer, helped secure a gift of $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie for the branch's construction. The Free Colored Carnegie Branch remained in operation until 1961. In 1930, the Lawson McGhee Library began offering services to African Americans at a second location, the Murphy Branch Library. The Murphy Branch is still in operation. The Lawson McGhee Library now serves as the central library for the Knox County Public Library System.

See related posts: The Negro Branch of the Carnegie Library of Nashville (Nashville, Tennessee) ; The Colored School Department of the Cossitt Library (Memphis, Tennessee); and The Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library (Chattanooga, Tennessee).

Update 01/01/2013:
Charles Warner Cansler was the son of Laura Ann Scott Cansler. A native of North Carolina, Laura Ann Scott Cansler was the first African American teacher in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1864, Mrs. Cansler opened the Burnside School, a school for African Americans. The school was named for General Ambrose Everett Burnside, a Civil War general and U.S. senator (Republican - Rhode Island).

See: McRary, Amy. "Laura Ann Cansler Was Knoxville's First African American Teacher." Knoxnews.com. Knoxville News Sentinel, 29 Dec. 2012. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. ; Cotham, Steve. "Local Black History: Charles Warner Cansler." Knoxnews.com. Knoxville News Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 19 May 2012. ; "Burnside, Ambrose Everett (1824-1881)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present. United States Congress, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. 

On December 29, 2012, a story written by Erica Taylor on Laura Ann Scott Cansler was featured in the "Tom Joyner Morning Show's Little Known Black History Fact" column:

Little Known Black History Fact: Laura Ann Cansler (written by Erica Taylor)
http://blackamericaweb.com/85492/little-known-black-history-fact-laura-ann-cansler/


Sources: Miller, Ernest I. "Library Services for Negroes in Tennessee." Journal of Negro Education 10.4 (1941): 637. Print. ; Hudson, Earline H. "Library Service to Blacks and Black Librarians in Tennessee." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 104, 109, 112. Print. ; "Knox County Public Library History." About the Library. Knoxville County Public Library, 2007. Web. 19 May 2012. ; Cotham, Steve. "Local Black History: Charles Warner Cansler." Knoxnews.com. Knoxville News Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 19 May 2012. ; "Burnside, Ambrose Everett (1824-1881)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present. United States Congress, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. 

The Diplomat and the Librarian: George Washington Buckner and Anna Cowen Buckner

Dr. George Washington Buckner (1855-1943), a former slave and a native of Greensburg, Kentucky, served as the U.S. Diplomat to Liberia from 1913-1915. He received his appointment from President Woodrow Wilson. In addition, Dr. Buckner was a physician and a teacher, and a graduate of the Indiana State Normal School (now Indiana State University) and the Indiana Eclectic Medical College. He wrote a column for the Indiana Democrat called "Colored Folks". 

His wife, Anna Cowen Buckner, a former school teacher and an 1893 graduate of Fisk University, began her library career at the Cherry Street Branch of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public Library in 1922. The third Carnegie library built in Evansville, Indiana, the Cherry Street Branch provided library services to African Americans from 1914 until its closure in 1954. The library was located on Cherry Street, the same street on which the Cherry Street Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), co-founded by Dr. Buckner, was located. In the same vicinity was McFarland Baptist Church (corner of 5th and Cherry Streets), where Dr. Buckner had an office for his medical practice. This same church was where the dedication ceremony for the Cherry Street Branch Library was held (Rachel Davis Harris of the Eastern Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library was the keynote speaker). The library and church were torn down in the 1970s to make way for the expansion of Wellborn Baptist Hospital.

Dr. Buckner passed away in 1943 and is buried at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Evansville, Indiana (his gravestone incorrectly shows his death date as 1941). Mrs. Buckner passed away in 1948.

Update 2/23/2012:

The Buckners' son, George Buckner, Jr., was a lieutenant in the United States Army during World War II.  George Jr. was stationed at Fort Huachuca in Cochise County, Arizona, and in 1943, he married Patricia Thompson. Ms. Thompson was once a librarian at the Cherry Street Branch of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public Library in Evansville, Indiana, and at the Army Camp in Hopkinsville, Kentucky (See: "Derbyville." The Evansville Argus 16 Apr. 1943: 6. Print).

Fort Huachuca was the base where the 10th Calvary Regiment of the United States Army was stationed. The 10th Calvary Regiment was one of several all-black army regiments authorized by the United States Congress in 1866 to serve in the Western United States. Native American tribes living in the area referred to these regiments as the "Buffalo Soldiers" because their bravery, fighting skills, and curly hair reminded them of the buffalo that roamed the lands of the Western United States.

YouTube has a short video on the Buffalo Soldiers that were stationed at Fort Huachuca. Click on the link below to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vLAH7r_MKU

See related post: Article on Evansville, Indiana's Former African American Library Branch

Sources: "News of Indiana Libraries." Library Occurrent 6.6 (1922): 271. Print. ; "Indianapolis Visitor Honored with Party." Chicago Defender 3 Sept. 1938, natl. ed.: 13. Print. ; "Education and the Professions." This Far by Faith: Black Hoosier Heritage. Indianapolis: Indiana Humanities Council, n.d. 19-20. Print. ; "Dr. George Washington Buckner." The Evansville Boneyard. University of Southern Indiana, Feb. 2008. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. ; Kestenbaum, Lawrence, comp. "Index to Politicians: Buckner." Politicalgraveyard.com. The Political Graveyard, 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. ; "Anna Buckner." FamilySearch.org. Family Search, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. ; Hite, Edith E. "Evansville, Ind." Indianapolis Recorder 4 Aug. 1928: 7. Print. ; "Dr. Buckner May Resign: Colored Minister to Liberia Wishes to Educate His Children." Indianapolis Recorder 19 June 1915: 1. Print. ; "Ex-Minister Revisits City: Former Minister to Liberia Believes Italy Riding to Fall." Indianapolis Recorder 10 Aug. 1935: 1. Print. ; Fenton, Michele T. "Way Down Yonder at the Cherry Street Branch: A Short History of Evansville's Negro Library." Indiana Libraries 30.2 (2012): 38-39. Print. ;  "Class of 1893." Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee: 1902-1903. Nashville: Brandon Printing Co., 1903. 84. Print. ; "Buckner, George Washington." The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Ed. John E. Kleber. Lexington: U P of Kentucky, 1992. 136. Print. ; Harden, Cleona. "Evansville, Ind." Indianapolis Recorder 5 June 1965: 13. Print. ; "George Washington Buckner (1855- )." U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State, n.d. Web. 10 May 2011. ; "Dr. George W. Buckner Dies at Residence After Long Illness." The Evansville Argus 20 Feb. 1943: 1. Print. ; "Derbyville." The Evansville Argus 16 Apr. 1943: 6. Print.

Carnegie Free Library of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

The Carnegie Free Library in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago was built in 1918 with a gift of £2,500 from Andrew Carnegie. It opened for service in 1919 and is still in operation today. In 1998, the Carnegie Free Library, the Public Library of Trinidad, and the Central Library of Trinidad and Tobago were place under the governance of the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) per the NALIS Act, No. 18 of 1998.

The following monograph on the Carnegie Free Library of San Fernando was found through a search on OCLC's WorldCat database:

Commemorative Brochure: 60th Anniversary Celebrations, 1919-1979. San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago: Carnegie Free Library, 1980. Print.

Sources: Caribbean Libraries in the 21st Century: Changes, Challenges, and Choices. Ed. Cheryl Peltier-Davis and Shamin Renwick. Medford: Information Today, Inc., 2007. 4, 9, 12, 134-135. Print. ; Hill, Claudia. "Early Days of the Central Library and the Book Van in Trinidad and Tobago." Libraries & the Cultural Record 42.2 (2007): 183, 188. Print. ; "A Brief History of San Fernando." TriniView.com. TriniView.com, 4 May 2007. Web. 1 May 2012. ; Fabrizio, Claude. Towards A Cultural Development Policy: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1981. 22. Print. ; "History of the National Library and Information System Authority." NALIS. National Library and Information System Authority, n.d. Web. 1 May 2012.

Update 05/10/2012:

Here is an additional source for information on the Carnegie Free Library of San Ferndando:

	Jordan, Alma T. The Development of Library Service in the West Indies through Interlibrary Cooperation. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. 66-67, 71, 143, 148-149, 160, 168, 177, 247, 258-259, 297. Print.

Update 09/30/2015:

Related posts:  Carnegie Free Library of Barbados (Bridgetown, Barbados) and Carnegie Free Library of St. Lucia (Castries, St. Lucia)

Update 02/07/2016:

Related post: Carnegie Library Roseau (Roseau, Dominica)

Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue and the Colored Branches of the Louisville Free Public Library

Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue (1866-1935), a native of Farmville, Virginia, was the first African American to head a public library branch in the United States. From 1905 until 1935, Rev. Blue was the head of the African American branches of the Louisville Free Public Library (the Western Colored Branch and the Eastern Colored Branch). In 1922, he became the first African American librarian to give a speech before the American Library Association.

During the 1921 Joint District Meeting of Indiana and Kentucky Librarians and Trustees held at the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, Rev. Blue and his assistant Rachel D. Harris gave attendees a tour of the library's Western Colored Branch. In 1927, Rev. Blue organized the First Negro Library Conference held March 15-18 at the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia (the institute is now Hampton University; Rev. Blue was an alumnus). In 1928, Rev. Blue was one of several African American attendees at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Library Association held in West Baden, Indiana. He passed away on November 10, 1935.

See related posts: ALA History: 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, West Baden, Indiana ; Librarian Education: Louisville Free Public Library ; and Rachel Davis Harris and the Colored Branches of the Louisville Free Public Library.

Update 04/29/2012:

In 1922, at the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association in Detroit, Michigan,  Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue presented a paper "Work with the Negro Roundtable". In his paper, Blue talks about the librarian training class he started for African Americans at the Western Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. The training class was the first library training program offered in the South for African Americans, and was in operation from 1912 until 1931. Blue's paper was published in the September 1922 issue of The Southern Workman (v.51 , no. 9, p. 437-438).

Update 03/09/2013:

The following article by Reinette Jones contains a resolution written for Rev. Blue that was presented at the 2003 ALA Annual Conference:

Jones, Reinette F. "Spotlight: Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue." Kentucky Libraries 67.4 (2003): 6-7. Print.

You can also find the article here (cited as Library Faculty Publications 67):

http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=libraries_facpub

Rev. Blue's papers have been digitized and are now available online:

http://kdl.kyvl.org/catalog/xt7bcc0tr065/guide

Update 5/26/2014:

Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue is briefly mentioned in an I wrote an article on Lillian Haydon Childress Hall. The article was featured in the latest issue of Indiana Libraries (v. 33, no. 1). The link is below:

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

Update 8/10/2014:

Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue gave an address at the opening ceremony of the Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The ceremony was held on October 11, 1913. The Howard Branch was established to provide library services to Chattanooga's African American residents.

See post: The Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library (Chattanooga,Tennessee) 


Sources: Jones, Reinette. Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, from the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. Jefferson: McFarland, 2002. 51, 53-57, 77-78, 84, 88-89. Print.  ; Spradling, Mary Mace. "Black Librarians in Kentucky." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 41. Print. ; Battles, David M. The History of Public Library Access African Americans in the South or, Leaving Behind the Plow. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2008. 33-34, 44, 50, 54, 60, 70, 142. Print. ; Musmann, Klaus. "The Ugly Side of Librarianship: Segregation in Library Services from 1900 to 1950." Untold Stories: Civil Rights, Libraries, and Black Librarianship. Ed. John Mark Tucker. Champaign: Board of Trustees U of Illinois, 1998. 83-84, 86. Print. ; Jordan, Casper LeRoy. "African American Forerunners in Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Martha DeLoach. 2nd Ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 28-29. Print. ; Dawson, Alma. "Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship." Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 56. Print. ; Campbell, Lucy B. "Black Librarians in Virginia." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 124-125. Print. ; Jones, Reinette and Alonzon Hill. "Thomas Fountain Blue, Sr." Notable Kentucky African Americans Database: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries. University of Kentucky Libraries, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V. Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York: New York Public Library, 1989. 154. Print. ; "Library Opened: Colored People of Louisville Looked After." Indianapolis Recorder 2 June 1906: 1. Print. ; "Free Libraries in Louisville: Kentucky City Leads Country Along This Line - How They Benefit the Public." Indianapolis Recorder 25 Jul. 1914: 1. Print. ; "West Baden, Ind." Indianapolis Recorder 9 June 1928: 7. Print. ; Curtis, Florence Rising. "Colored Librarians in Conference." Library Journal 52.8 (1927): 408. Print. ; Joint District Meeting Indiana and Kentucky Librarians and Trustees, Main Library, Thursday, March 10, 1921, Louisville, Kentucky. Program. [Louisville: Louisville Free Public Library, 1921]. Print. ; "Louisville." Library Occurrent 6.2 (1921): 80-81. Print. ; Brown, Beatrice S. Louisville's Historic Black Neighborhoods. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012. 104. Print. ; Librarianship in Gilded Age America: An Anthology of Writings, 1868-1901. Ed. Leonard Schlup and Stephen H. Pascen. Jefferson: McFarland, 2009. 322. Print. ; Potter, Joan. African American Firsts: Famous, Little Known, and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America. New York: Kensington, 2009. 34. Print. ; Blue, Thomas F. "A Successful Library Experiment." Opportunity 2.20 (1924): 244-246. Print. ; "American Library Association." The Southern Workman 55.11 (1926):486. Print. ; Blue, Thomas F. "Work with the Negro Roundtable." The Southern Workman 51.9 (1922):437-438. 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. ; Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print.

Willa Resnover and the Norwood Library (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Willa Resnover (1894-1978) was the earliest known African American librarian to work in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Although she had no formal library training, Ms. Resnover, a graduate of  Emmerich Manual High School and  Madame Blaker’s Teachers College (was also known as Teachers College of Indianapolis ; now the Butler University College of Education), served as the librarian for the Norwood Library, the first library in Indianapolis for African Americans. The library was housed inside the Norwood Boys’ Club on the city’s southeast side in the Norwood neighborhood. The Norwood Library was built in 1912 as a replacement for the Norwood School's  library collection which was lost in a fire in 1909 (the Norwood School was later known as Indianapolis Public School No. 64). Ada B. Harris, principal of the Norwood School, along with citizens and several organizations donated a total of 1,000 materials for the library's collection. Willa Resnover later married William Donaldson and taught school in Illinois in the cities of Carbondale and Cairo. She passed away in 1978.

*Note: The Norwood Library was an independent library. It was never part of the Indianapolis Public Library System.

See related posts: The Flanner Guild Deposit Station, Paul Laurence Dunbar Branch, Crispus Attucks Branch, and the George Washington Carver Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library (Indianapolis, Indiana) ; Lillian Sunshine Haydon Childress Hall: Pioneer in the History of Library Services to African Americans in Indiana ; and Hallie Beachem Brooks: Librarian, Professor, and Indiana Native.

Sources: “News of Indiana Libraries.” Library Occurrent 3.5 (1912): 96. Print. ; “Colored Library Opened in Norwood.” Indianapolis Recorder 28 Sept. 1912: 1. Print. ; “Norwood Library.” Indianapolis Recorder 6 May 1911: 1. Print. ; Ferguson, Earline Rae. “Indianapolis: Civic, Literary, and Mutual Aid Associations.” Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations. Ed. Nina Mjagkij. New York: Garland, 2001. 235. Print. ; “Norwood.” Indianapolis Recorder 10 Aug. 1912: 6. Print. ; “Norwood School Now Public School No. 64.” Indianapolis Recorder 12 Oct. 1912: 2. Print. ; “Progress of the Norwood Schools.” Indianapolis Recorder 21 June 1913: 7. Print. ; “United States Census, 1920.” FamilySearch 4 Oct. 2011. Web. FamilySearch.org. ; Hine, Darlene Clark. Hine Sight: Black Women and the Re-Construction of American History. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1997. 111-112. Print. ; “Playmates of School 19 Enjoy Home-coming, Impromptu Program.” Indianapolis Recorder 25 Sept. 1943: 5. Print. ; “Ethical Culture.” Indianapolis Recorder 9 Dec. 1916: 3. Print. ; “Local Social Events.” Indianapolis Recorder 18 Nov. 1916: 2. Print.  ; “Local News: Personal Mention.” Indianapolis Recorder 1 Aug. 1914: 8. Print. ; “Local News: Personal Mention.” Indianapolis Recorder 4 Apr. 1914: 8. Print. ; Gibbs, Wilma L. “June Resnover Curry Collection, 1905-1921 [Finding Aid].” Indiana Historical Society, 2 Feb. 1995. Pdf File. Web. 3 Jan. 2012. ; Blair, Francis G. “Illinois School Directory, 1922-1923.” Circular (Illinois. Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) 166 (1922): 71. Print.

John Edward Bruce: Ex-Slave, Bibliophile, Historian, and Journalist

John Edward Bruce (1856-1924), a former slave, was a noted bibliophile, historian, and journalist. In 1911, he co-founded the Negro Society for Historical Research with his friend and colleague Arthur Schomburg. Mr. Bruce attended Howard University, was a member of the Republican National Committee’s Literary Bureau, the Men’s Sunday Club, the Bethel Literary and Historical Association, the American Negro Academy, and once worked for The New York Times. In addition, he was a member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and founded newspapers such as The Argus Weekly (Washington, D.C.), The Sunday Item (Norfolk, Va.), The Republican (Norfolk, Va.), The Grit (Washington, D.C.), and The Weekly Standard (Yonkers, N.Y.). He was known in the literary world as “Bruce Grit” and wrote for such papers as The African Times and Orient Review, The Negro World, The Albany Argus, and The Buffalo Express. John Edward Bruce passed away in 1924 and is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Yonkers, New York.

See related posts:  Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, 1874-1938: Noted Bibliophile, Collector, Curator, and Scholar and The Bethel Literary and Historical Association.

Sources: Crowder, Ralph L. John Edward Bruce: Politician, Journalist, and Self-Trained Historian of the African Diaspora. New York: New York UP, 2004. Print. ; Seraile, William. Bruce Grit: The Black Nationalist Writings of John Edward Bruce. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2003. Print. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V. Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York : New York Public Library, 1989. 28-30, 36-37, 61, 73-74, 206. Print. ; Black Bibliophiles and Collectors: Preservers of Black History. Ed. Elinor D. V. Sinnette, W. Paul Coates, and Thomas C. Battle. Washington, D.C.: Howard UP, 1990. 10, 33-34, 38-39, 42, 47, 52, 69. Print. ; Anderson, Sarah A. "'The Place to Go': The 135th Street Branch Library and the Harlem Renaissance." Library Quarterly 73.4 (2003): 414. Print.