Lyda Moore Merrick (1890-1987)
Lyda Moore
Merrick was born Lydia Vivian Moore in 1890 in Durham, North Carolina. Her
parents were Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore and Sarah McCotta Dancy Moore. Merrick’s father was the first African
American physician in Durham and the founder of the Lincoln Hospital for
Negroes.
Merrick
attended Scotia Seminary (Barber-Scotia College) in Concord, North Carolina and
Fisk University, In Nashville, Tennessee, where she graduated magna cum laude
in 1911. In addition, Merrick was a member of Delta Sigma Theta and the Volkemenia
Literary Club.
In 1916,
Merrick married Edward R. Merrick. Their fathers, John Merrick and Dr. Aaron
McDuffie Moore, co-founded the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association
(North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company). In addition, Dr. Moore helped
start the Durham Colored Library in 1913 in the basement of White Rock Baptist
Church. In 1916 the library moved into a
building owned by John Merrick.
In 1940,
the Durham Colored Library moved into a new building and was renamed the Stanford
L. Warren Library after Dr. Stanley L ee Warren (1863-1940, who donated funds
to purchase the land on which the new library was built. Merrick joined the
library’s board of directors. She also began working with the Library Corner
for the Blind as part of the library’s extension service. A patron of the
Library Corner for the Blind, John Carter Washington, noticed that many Braille
materials being published did not feature stories by and about African
Americans. In 1952, Washington and Merrick started Negro Braille Magazine
as a resource for African Americans with print disabilities. Merrick was the
magazine’s first editor and would search for stories and news of interest to
African Americans. Washington served as the assistant editor and translated the
stories and news into Braille.
Merrick
served as the Negro Braille Magazine’s editor until 1969. Charlotte
Hackett succeeded Merrick as the magazine’s editor. Hackett served as editor
until 1975, when she was succeeded by Margaret Wilson Whisenton.
Merrick
was recipient of several awards during her lifetime, including:
· Durham Area Merchant’s Association Mother of the Year Award, 1979
· Baha’i Community of Durham Humanitarian Award, 1981
· Daughters of Isis of Zafa Court No. 41 Community Recognition Award, 1982
Both Lyda
Moore Merrick and John C. Washington were
honored during the Negro Braille Magazine’s 25th anniversary celebration held at St. Joseph’s A.M.E. Church in Durham, on Friday, June 3, 1977. An
additional program was held the next day featuring a performance at the Durham
Civic Center by the Celestial Choral Ensemble of the Blind from New York.
Negro
Braille Magazine
was renamed Merrick-Washington Magazine for the Blind in 1981 in
recognition of the work of Merrick and Washington.
Lyda Moore
Merrick passed away at the age of 96 on February 14, 1987, in Durham, North
Carolina. The Lyda Moore Merrick Gallery at the Hayti Heritage Center, also in
Durham, is named for her.
Margaret
Whisenton (1918-1998)
Margaret
Whisenton was born Margaret Yvonne Wilson, in Durham, North Carolina on October
22, 1918. Her parents were William Henry Wilson and Lida Smith Wilson.
Whisenton
attended West Virginia State College (West Virginia State University),
receiving her B.A. in 1939. Whisenton furthered her education, receiving a
Master of Science in Social Work from Atlanta University (Clark-Atlanta
University) and later, a Bachelor of Library Science from North Carolina
College for Negroes (North Carolina Central University) in 1947. She later
married Andrew C. Whisenton.
In 1951,
Margret Wilson Whisenton began working as the extension services librarian for
the Stanford L. Warren Library (formerly the Durham Colored Library). Whisenton
coordinated the library’s bookmobile service and the library’s outreach to
African Americans with print disabilities through its Library Corner for the
Blind. In 1966, Whisenton became head of the Durham City-County Library
System’s extension service. In 1971, Whisenton became head of the library’s
adult services, a position she held until her retirement in 1974.
In 1975,
an opportunity became available for Whisenton. The Negro Braille Magazine needed a new editor. Founded
in 1952 by Lyda Moore Merrick (1890-1987), the magazine served as a resource
for African Americans with print disabilities. Whisenton became the new editor,
a role she took on until 1981. Dr. Ida Blue succeeded Whisenton as editor.
In 1981 the name of the magazine was changed to Merrick-Washington Magazine for
the Blind in recognition of the work of Lyda Merrick and John C.
Washington, the magazine’s founders. The magazine ceased publication in 2013.
Whisenton
was not the only librarian in her family. Her son, Andre Carl Whisenton
(1944-2019) was library director at the United States Department of Labor and
at the Naval Systems Command; deputy director at the Defense Intelligence
Agency; and director of dispute resolution and equal employment opportunity
at the Library of Congress.
Margaret Yvonne
Wilson Whisenton passed away in 1998.
Sources:
“Braille
Group Selects New Officers.” The Durham Sun [Durham, N.C.], 30 Jan. 1976,
p. A-5.
“Concern
for Humanity is Family Tradition.” The Durham Sun [Durham, N.C.], 14 Feb.
1989, p. A-6.
Durham
County Library. The History of the Stanford L. Warren Library, n.d., durhamcountylibrary.org/exhibits/slw/timeline.php.
Accessed 25 May 2026.
Hincliffe,
Kelly. “90th Anniversary a New Beginning: Warren Branch Library Has
History and a New Look.” The Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.], 14 Aug. 2006, pp.
A-1, A-5.
Hodges,
Betty. “Mothers of the Year 1979.” The Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.], 29 Apr. 1979, pp. E-1–E-2.
“HUD
Secretary Presented First N.C. Mutual Award.” The Durham Morning Herald
[Durham, N.C.], 21 Oct.1967, p. B-1.
“Library
Trustee Names Book Selection Panel.” The Durham Sun [Durham, N.C.], 20 Feb.
1974, p. C-1.
Lougee,
George. “She Cherishes Past and Watches Present.” The Herald-Sun [Durham,
N.C.], · 28 Dec. 1976, p. B-14.
“Lyda
Merrick to be Honored.” The Durham Sun [Durham, N.C.], 28 May 1977, p. 10.
“Lyda
Moore Merrick, 96, Founder of a Magazine for the Blind.” The Herald-Sun [Durham,
N.C.], 15 Feb. 1987, p. C-2.
“Magazine
Editor.” The Daily Times News [Burlington,
N.C.], 27 May 1977, p. A-2.
“Magazine
Founder Honored.” The Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.], 23 Apr. 1969, p. E-5.
“Magazine’s
1-Person Operation.” The Charlotte News [Charlotte, N.C.], 31 May 1977, p.
B-2.
“Melva
Washington Toomer and John Washington.” StoryCorps, 2016, storycorps.org/stories/john-washington-and-melva-washington-toomer-160819/.
Accessed 25 May 2026.
Moe, Susan
Spence. “Magazine Kept Founder on Her Knees.” The News and Observer
[Raleigh, N.C.], 1 June 1977, p. 12.
“N.C.C.N.
Department Sponsors Display During Book Week.” The Durham Morning Herald
[Durham, N.C.], 5 Nov. 1946, Sec. 2, p. 1.
“Negro
Braille Magazine Nears 25th Anniversary.” Thomasville Times
[Thomasville, N.C.], 27 May 1977, p. D-1.
“Negro
Braille Magazine Unique.” Winston-Salem Journal [Winston-Salem, N.C.], 27
May 1977, p. 16.
“Negro
Library Gets New Bookmobile.” The Durham Sun [Durham, N.C.], 30 May 1958,
p. A-2.
“North
Carolina Mutual Fulfills Long-Cherished Goal.” The Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.],
1 Apr. 1966, p. 2, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. Section.
“Sen.
Barkley, Commencement Speaker at N.C. College Declares United States Foreign
Policy is Consistent; 157 Degrees Given to Candidates at Closing Exercises.” The
Durham Morning Herald [Durham, N.C.], 3 June 1947, Sec. 2, p. 6.
“Time
Capsule Will Show Firm’s 65-Year History.” The Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.],
1 Apr. 1966, p. E-5.
“Vacation
Reading Program Launched by Negro Library.” The Durham Morning Herald [Durham,
N.C.], 9 June 1947, p. 3.
“Warren
Library Marks Its Half-Century.” The Durham Morning Herald [Durham, N.C.],
10 Apr. 1990, p. A-7.
“Whisenton.”
The Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.], 23
Oct. 1998, p. C-2.
Brandon, Khadija.
“Stanford Lee Warren.” BlackPast, 20 July 2019, blackpast.org/african-american-history/stanford-lee-warren-1863-1940/.
Accessed 25 May 2026.
Whisenton, Vera. “Andre Carl Whisenton.” Handbook of Black Librarianship, Third Edition, edited by Andrew P. Jackson, Marva L. DeLoach, and Michele Fenton, Rowman & Littlefield, 2024, pp. 38-39.
Whittenton, Burwell. “Boys Club Branch Library Proves to Be Big Success.” The Durham Sun [Durham, N.C.], 12 May 1969, p. B-1.
Wilson,
Emily Herring. “Lyda Moore Merrick: A Black History Month Perspective.” The
Herald-Sun [Durham, N.C.], 23 Feb. 2007, p. 36.