The Tougaloo Nine and the Sit-in at the Jackson Mississippi Municipal Library

On March 27, 1961, nine African American students from Tougaloo College were arrested for their attempt to integrate the Jackson, Mississippi Municipal Library by having a sit-in:

Joseph Jackson, Jr.
Geraldine Edwards
James Bradford
Evelyn Pierce
Albert Lassiter
Ethel Sawyer
Meredith Anding
Janice Jackson
Alfred Cook

These students became known as the “Tougaloo Nine.” The following year, four other African American students attempted to integrate the library by organizing a sit-in. They unlike their predecessors were not arrested. Eventually the Jackson, Mississippi Municipal Library was integrated. It is now known as the Jackson-Hinds Library System.

Update 12/08/2012:

See related post: George Washington Carver Library (Jackson, Mississippi) and Its Role in the Tougaloo Nine Sit-in.

Update 12/09/2012:

Click on the link below to view a YouTube video of a program given in honor of the Tougaloo Nine by the Fannie Lou Hamer Symposium:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f_mG0hFvU4


Sources: Lasseter, Cheryl. "Members of Tougaloo Nine Look Back at Historic Day." WLBT.com (Channel 3 - Jackson, Mississippi). WorldNow, 14 Oct. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. ; McBride, Earnest. "Hamer Forum Pays Tribute to Tougaloo 9." Jackson Advocateonline.com. Jackson Advocate (Jackson, Miss.), 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. ; "Tougaloo Nine Honored." Mississippi History Newsletter (Oct. 2011): 1. Print. ; "4 Young Negroes Integrate Mississippi Library." Jet 22.15 (1962): 24. Print. ; Cutter, Jamie Irene. Getting by at the Benjamin Mays Black Branch: Library Access for African Americans in Jim Crow South Carolina, 1940-1971. MLIS thesis. San Jose State University, 2011. 56, 120. Pdf. 

Update 12/11/2012:

Twenty-two years earlier, five African American men were arrested for their attempt to receive service at the Barrett Branch of the Alexandria Public Library in Alexandria, Virginia:

Robert Robinson of the Alexandria Public Library (Alexandria, VA) and the 1939 Sit-Down Strike
http://www.littleknownblacklibrarianfacts.blogspot.com/2011/08/robert-robinson-branch-of-alexandria.html
 
Update 2/28/2013:

The library sit-in by the "Tougaloo Nine" is briefly mentioned in the following article:

Cook, Karen. “Struggles Within: Lura G. Currier, the Mississippi Library Commission, and Library Services to African Americans.” Information & Culture 48.1 (2013): 136-137.Print.

Update 11/03/2014:

 Some attempts by African Americans to integrate segregated libraries were met with violence. For example, on September 15, 1963, two African American ministers were attacked by a mob when they tried to enter the Anniston Public Library in Anniston, Alabama:

Integration and the Anniston Public Library, Anniston, Alabama
http://www.littleknownblacklibrarianfacts.blogspot.com/2014/11/integration-and-anniston-public-library.html

Update 07/04/2026:

M. J. O'Brien has written a book about the Tougaloo Nine:

O’Brien, M. J. The Tougaloo Nine: The Jackson Library Sit-in at the Crossroads of Civil War and Civil Rights. University Press of Mississippi, 2025.

The Suva City Carnegie Library (Suva, Fiji)

In 1907, Andrew Carnegie donated $7,300 (equivalent to £1460 at the time) for the establishment of the Suva City Carnegie Library in Suva, Fiji. The library is still in operation today.    

Sources: Panapasa, Geraldine. “Library Comes of Age.” The Fiji Times Online. Fiji Times Unlimited, 14 Sept. 2008. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. ; Calvert, Philip J. “Pacific Island Libraries.” International Dictionary of Library Histories, Vol. 1. Ed. David H. Stam. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. 125. Print. ; Williams, Esther Batiri. "Fiji." World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services. Ed. Robert Wedgeworth. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1993. 293-294. Print. ; "Suva City Library Celebrates 100 Years." The Fiji Times Online. Fiji Times Unlimited, 3 Sept. 2008. Web. 3 Mar. 2012.

Update 04/13/2012:

  William Thomson, the great-grandson of Andrew Carnegie, was special guest at the Suva City Carnegie Library 100th Anniversary Celebration.

Source: "Suva City Library Celebrates 100 Years." The Fiji Times Online. Fiji Times Unlimited, 3 Sept. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

The following monographs on the Suva City Carnegie Library were found through a search on OCLC's WorldCat database:

Baksh, S. The Suva City Library: A Brief History and Development, 1909-1980. Suva: Suva City Library, 1980. Print.

Cerelala, Isimeli and Frances Pene. Suva City Carnegie Library: 100th Anniversary. Suva: Admed Consultants, 2008. Print.

Update 10/03/2012:

 Before the Suva City Carnegie Library was established, there were earlier initiatives to provide library services in Fiji. One such initiative was the creation of the Levuka Reading Room in Levuka, Fiji by William Thomas Pritchard. The Levuka Reading Room was built between 1858 and 1862, and remained in operation until 1872. The reading room's collection was later transferred to the Levuka Mechanics Institute.

Sources: Calvert, Philip James. "The Levuka Reading Room: Fiji's First Library." Journal of Library History 20.3 (1985): 302-309. Print. ; Mason, James E. Handbook to Fiji and Catalogue of the Exhibits. London: William Clowes and Sons, Ltd., 1886. 27. Print. ;Calvert, Philip J. “Pacific Island Libraries.” International Dictionary of Library Histories, Vol. 1. Ed. David H. Stam. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. 125. Print. ; Cooper, H. Stonehewer. Our New Colony Fiji: Its History, Progress, and Resources. London: Mortgage and Agency Co. of Australasia, 1882. 17. Print. ; Horne, Gerald. The White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Seas after the Civil War. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 2007. 80. Print.

Update 09/30/2015:

Related posts:  Carnegie Free Library of Barbados (Bridgetown, Barbados) ; Carnegie Free Library of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago; and Carnegie Free Library of St. Lucia (Castries, St. Lucia).

Carnegie Non-European Library Service (Transvaal) of South Africa

The Carnegie Non-European Library Service (Transvaal) was established in Germiston, South Africa in 1932. The purpose of the organization was to promote library service to the black population of South Africa. The Germiston Public Library served as the organization’s headquarters. Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo, a member of the Zulu Nation, was appointed the organization’s first librarian-organizer in 1937. In 1946, the organization was moved to Pretoria, South Africa and re-named the Non-European Library Service, Transvaal. The Carnegie Non-European Library Service was discontinued in 1958. 

Update 12/09/2012:
See related post: Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo: Zulu, Writer, Educator, and Pioneer South African Librarian.

Sources: Everts, R. Alain. “The Pioneers: Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo and the Development of Library Service to the African in South Africa.” Third World Libraries 3.2 (1993):n.pag. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. ; Kalley, Jacqueline. Apartheid in South African Libraries: The Transvaal Experience. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 20, 37-42. Print. ; Rochester, Maxine K. “The Carnegie Corporation and South Africa: Non-European Library Services.” Libraries & Culture 34.1 (1999): 36-37, 39, 41, 43, 45. Print. ; Jones, Reinette. “Kentucky Carnegie Colored Libraries International Influence.” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database: Librarians. University of Kentucky Libraries, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. ; Bell, Fiona. “The Carnegie Corporation Decides on Racially-Segregated Libraries in South Africa in 1928: Negrophilist or Segregationist?” Library & Information History 25.3 (2009): 184-185. Print. ; Cobley, Alan G. “Literacy, Libraries, and Consciousness: The Provision of Library Services for Blacks in South Africa in the Pre-Apartheid Era.” Libraries & Culture 32.1 (1997): 64-69. Print. ; Olden, Anthony. Libraries in Africa: Pioneers, Policies, Problems. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1995. 23-25. Print.

Edward C. Williams: First African American Male Library Science Graduate

Edward Christopher Williams (1871-1929) was the first African American male to receive a formal education in library science. He graduated from the New York State Library School in 1900. In addition, Mr. Williams was the first African American director of the Howard University Library System (1916-1929); was the librarian for Adelbert College (part of Western Reserve University - now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio; and was one of several notable African American attendees at the 1928 Annual Meeting of the American Library Association in West Baden, Indiana.

Update 5/26/2014:

Edward Christopher Williams 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."


See related posts: ALA History: 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, West Baden, Indiana ; Virginia Proctor Powell Florence: First African American Female Library Science Graduate.

Update 11/17/2015:

Edward Christopher Williams is briefly mentioned in a piece I wrote on Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.):

Fenton, Michele. "Dunbar High School." African American Leadership: A Concise Reference Guide. [Santa Barbara, CA]: Mission Bell Media, 2015. 79-81. Print.
                                                                                                                                                       
Sources: “HUL Directors.” Library System, Howard University.  Howard University, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. ;  Mills, Paul T. “Edward Christopher Williams, 1871-December 24, 1929.” The Black Renaissance in Washington, D.C., 1920-1930s.  District of Columbia Public Library, 20 June 2003. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. ; 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. 3. Print. ; Scott, Diane R. Celebrating African American Librarians. Feb. 2009: 1. Print. ; Dawson, Alma. “Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship.” Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 62. Print. ; Latimer, Carlos. Edward Christopher Williams and His Impact on Librarianship. Springfield: ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 1994. Print. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 24, 26. Print. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V. Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York: New York Public Library, 1989. 141, 145, 150. Print. ; Josey, E.J. "Edward Christopher Williams: A Librarian's Librarian." Journal of Library History 4 (1969): 106-107. Print. ;  Josey, E.J. "Foreword." Educating Black Librarians: Papers from the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University. Ed. Benjamin F. Speller, Jr. Jefferson: McFarland, 1991. ix-xi. Print. ; “West Baden, Ind.” Indianapolis Recorder 9 June 1928: 7. Print. ; Fiftieth Annual Meeting Advanced Attendance Register, May 27-June 2, 1928, West Baden, Indiana. [Chicago]: American Library Association, 1928. 14. Print. ; “Annual Conference, 1920-1929.”  Past Annual Conference, 1876-Present. American Library Association, 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. ; “West Baden Conference May 28 to June 2.” Library Occurrent 8.7 (1928): 255-256. 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. ; Porter, Dorothy B. "Phylon Profile, XIV: Edward Christopher Williams." Phylon (1940-1956) 8.4 (1947): 315-321. Print. ; Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print.

Virginia Proctor Powell Florence: First African American Female Library Science Graduate

Born in 1897, Virginia Proctor Powell Florence was the first African American female to receive a formal education in library science. She was a 1923 graduate of the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library School (the school is now the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Science). Ms. Florence began her career at the New York Public Library (135^th Street Branch).  She was also the first African American librarian to take New York’s certification exam for high school librarians.  In addition, Ms. Florence was a librarian at Seward Park High School in Brooklyn, New York; Cordoza High School in Washington, D.C.; and Maggie L. Walker Senior High School in Richmond, Virginia. She retired from librarianship in 1965. Ms. Florence passed away in 1991 in Richmond, Virginia.

Ms. Florence's husband, Charles Wilbur Florence (the couple married in 1931), was the president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri from 1931 until 1937. A 1919 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Florence later served as the head of Virginia Union University's Department of Education from 1938 until his retirement in 1956. He passed away in 1974.

Update 12/26/2012:

See related posts: Edward Christopher Williams: First African American Male Library Science Graduate ; Helen Price Sawyer Braxton: Hampton Institute Library School Graduate and Librarian at Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Missouri).

Sources: “Virginia Proctor Powell Florence: A Remarkable Oberlin Alumna Librarian.” Library Perspectives: A Newsletter of the Oberlin College Library 32 (2005): 5. Print. ; Gunn, Arthur C. "A Black Woman Wants to Be A Professional: The Struggle of Virginia Proctor Powell Florence." American Libraries (Feb. 1989): 154-157. Print. ; Scott, Diane R. Celebrating African American Librarians. Feb. 2009: 2. Print. ; Josey, E.J. "Foreword." Educating Black Librarians: Papers from the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University. Ed. Benjamin F. Speller, Jr. Jefferson: McFarland, 1991. x-xi. Print. ; Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 10, 26. Print. ; Dyer, Ervin. "The Great Debater." Pitt Magazine (Summer 2008):n. pag. Web. 2012 Dec. 26.

Clara Stanton Jones: ALA's First African American President

In July 1976, Clara Stanton Jones (1913-2012) became the first African American president of the American Library Association. In addition, Ms. Jones was the first African American female director of the Detroit Public Library. Ms. Jones once worked as a reference librarian at Dillard University (1938-1940) and an associate librarian at Southern University (1940-1944). She began her career at the Detroit Public Library in 1944, and served as the library's director from 1970 until her retirement in 1978.

Sources: "Detroit's Top Librarian: In Race to Make City Libraries Serve Today's Needs, No One Keeps Up with Mrs. Jones." Ebony 27.1 (1971): 115-116, 118, 120, 122. Print. ; "ALA Past Presidents." American Library Association. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. ; Battles, David M. The History of Public Library Services to African Americans in the South or, Leaving Behind the Plow. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2009. 145. Print. ; Josey, E.J. "A Dreamer-- With A Tiny Spark." The Black Librarian in America. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. 323. Print. ; Dawson, Alma. "Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship." Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 58. Print. ; Jones, Clara S. "The Black Librarian." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 16-19. Print. ; McPheeters, Annie L. Library Service in Black and White: Some Personal Recollections, 1921-1980. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1988. 132. 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. 11-14. Print. ; Poinsett, Alex. "1976: Year of the Black Voter." Ebony 32.3 (1977): 85. Print. ; Garner, Carla W. "Jones, Clara Stanton (1913-)." BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. ; DeLoach, Marva. "Clara Stanton Jones." Women of Color in Librarianship: An Oral History. Ed. Kathleen de la Pena McCook. [Chicago]: ALA, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, 1998. 28-57. Print.  ; Bobinski, George S. Libraries and Librarianship: Sixty Years of Challenge and Change, 1945-2005. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2007. 100. Print.

Update 10/04/2012:

On Sunday, September 30, 2012, Ms. Clara Stanton Jones passed away at the age of 99 in Oakland, California. She received her Bachelor of Library Science (BLS) from the University of Michigan in 1938.

Update 01/03/2013:

On December 27, 2012, Maurice Wheeler wrote an article in tribute to Ms. Clara Stanton Jones for Library Journal (Online):

Wheeler, Maurice. "Remembering Clara Stanton Jones: Backtalk." Library Journal (Online). Library Journal, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Jan. 2013.

Update 03/19/2013:

See related posts: The E. Azalia Hackley Collection of Negro Music, Dance, and Drama (Detroit Public Library) and Marcus Bruce Christian, Louisiana Librarian.

Sources: Laitner, Bill. "Clara Stanton Jones: First Woman, First African American to Lead Detroit Library." Detroit Free Press (Online). Detroit Free Press, 3 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. ; Goldberg, Beverly. "Library Mentor and Pioneer Clara Stanton Jones Dies." Inside Scoop: News and Views from Inside ALA.  American Library Association, 3 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. ; "Clara Stanton Jones: Significant Figure in Librarianship and Her Husband Honored with Scholarship." SI@umich 32 (2007):1, 5. Print. ; Schwartz, Meredith. "Obituary: Clara Stanton Jones, Detroit Director and ALA President."  Library Journal (Online). Library Journal, 3 Oct. 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. ; Wheeler, Maurice. "Remembering Clara Stanton Jones: Backtalk." Library Journal (Online). Library Journal, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Jan. 2013.

Update 05/04/2013:

Today, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the results of its 2013 election. The winning candidate for the office of ALA president is Courtney Young. When she takes office, Ms. Young will be the fifth African American to serve as president of ALA. Her term as president will be 2014-2015.
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Sources: Kempf, JoAnne. "Young Wins ALA Presidency." ALA News. American Library Association, 3 May 2013. Web. 3 May 2013. ; "ALA Election Results: Young Wins President, Gonzalez Treasurer;  Dues Measure Passes by Wide Margin." INFOdocket. INFOdocket.com, 3 May 2013. Web. 3 May 2013. ; Borman, Laurie. "Young Wins 2014-2015 ALA Presidency." Inside Scoop. American Library Association, 3 May 2013. Web. 3 May 2013.

Update 10/06/2014:
 
On September 30, 2014, Tom Joyner's BlackAmerica Web featured an article by D.L. Chandler in its "Little Known Black History Fact" column on Clara Stanton Jones. To view, click on the following link:

http://blackamericaweb.com/2014/09/30/little-known-black-history-fact-clara-stanton-jones/2

ALA History: 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, West Baden, Indiana

The 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association was held May 27-June 2, 1928 in West Baden, Indiana at the West Baden Springs Hotel. Several notable African American librarians were attendance:

Etka F. Braboy Gaskin (Gary Public Library, Gary, Indiana)

Lillian Sunshine Haydon Childress Hall (Indianapolis Public Library, Indianapolis, Indiana)

Hallie Beachem Brooks (Indianapolis Public Library, Indianapolis, Indiana)

Othella Roberts (Evansville Public Library, Evansville, Indiana)

Elnora McIntyre Roy (Atlantic City Public Library, Atlantic City, New Jersey)

Rebecca M. Bond (Chicago Public Library, Chicago, Illinois)

Edward C. Williams (Howard University, Washington, D.C.)

Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue (Louisville Free Public Library, Louisville, Kentucky)

Rachel Davis Harris (Louisville Free Public Library, Louisville, Kentucky)

Sources: "West Baden, Ind." Indianapolis Recorder 9 June 1928: 7. Print. ; Fiftieth Annual Meeting Advanced Attendance Register, May 27-June 2, 1928, West Baden, Indiana. [Chicago]: American Library Association, 1928: 4, 14. Print. ; "Annual Conference, 1920-1929." Past Annual Conferences, 1876-Present. American Library Association, 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. ; "West Baden Conference May 28 to June 2." Library Occurrent 8.7 (1928): 255-256. Print. ; ALA Travel Committee. "ALA Conference 1928, West Baden, Indiana, May 28-June 2." Bulletin of the American Library Association 22.3 (1928): 46-50. Print.

*Update 06/24/2012:

 African Americans were not allowed to stay at the West Baden Springs Hotel because of the segregation laws of the time. The only hotel available for African American travelers was the Waddy Hotel and Spa. Built in 1913, the Waddy Hotel was owned and operated by George and Nannie Waddy, a prominent African American couple who resided in the town. There's also the possibility that African American conference attendees stayed in the homes of African Americans families in West Baden. This was a common practice during the Jim Crow Era. You can learn more about the Waddy Hotel and Spa from the following sources:

"Waddy Hotel." The Negro Motorist's Green Book. New York, NY: Victor H. Green & Co., 1949. 29. Print.

Lane, Laura. "The Waddy Hotel: Hotel Popular Resort for Blacks." Herald Times (Bloomington, Indiana). 28 July 1991: A1, A12.

Foster, Mark S. "In the Face of 'Jim Crow': Prosperous Blacks and Vacation, Travel and Outdoor Leisure, 1890-1945." Journal of Negro History. 84.2 (1999): 139. Print.

*Update 08/07/2012:

You can view a picture postcard of the Waddy Hotel at the CardCow.com website:

http://www.cardcow.com/34410/hotel-waddy-west-baden-springs-indiana/

*Update 12/16/2012:

  The following article on the 1928 ALA Annual Conference was recently published in Indiana Libraries:

Preer, Jean and Lydia Spotts. "Meeting under the Dome: The ALA Holds its 1928 Conference in West Baden." Indiana Libraries. 31.2 (2012): 11-16. Print.

*Update 12/23/2012:

  See related post: ALA History: 1936 Meeting in Richmond, Virginia

*Update 04/18/2014:

I wrote an article on one of the conference attendees, Lillian Haydon Childress Hall (1899-1958). The article was published in the latest issue of Indiana Libraries (v. 33, no. 1). Click on 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 05/27/2023:

 I created a bibliography of additional sources and facts relating to the 1928 ALA Annual Conference:

African American and the 1928 ALA Annual Conference