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.

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

ALA History: 1936 American Library Association Meeting in Richmond, Virginia

During the 1936 American Library Association Meeting in Richmond, Virginia, African American librarians were not allowed to stay at the conference hotel, eat at the dining sessions, or visit the exhibits. This was due to Virginia's segregation laws.

The unfair treatment in Richmond, Virginia of African American conference attendees, prompted the American Library Association (ALA) to pass a resolution to never hold any of its conferences in cities that discriminated against any of its members because of their race. It also forbade any state affiliate that practiced racism to become an affiliate of ALA.


Sources: 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, 2000. 7. Print. ; Battles, David M. The History of Public Library Access for African Americans in the South, or, Leaving Behind the Plow. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2008. 80. Print. ; Jones, Reinette. Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky: From the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. 134. Print. ; Preer, Jean L. “‘This Year -- Richmond!’: The 1936 Meeting of the American Library Association.” Libraries & Culture 39.2 (2004): 137-160. Print.

 

Update 12/23/2012: 

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

Update 1/28/2014:

See related post: Wallace Van Jackson: Professor and Award-Winning Librarian

Update 7/27/2020:

See related post: 1928 Indiana Library Association Meeting and the Hotel Lincoln