Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo: Zulu, Writer, Educator, and Pioneer South African Librarian

Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo (also known as H.I.E. Dhlomo) was appointed the first librarian-organizer for the Carnegie Non-European Library Service (Transvaal) in 1937. A Zulu, Mr. Dhlomo was born in 1903 in Siyama Village in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa. In his role as librarian-organizer, Mr. Dhlomo helped promote library services to the black populations of South Africa. He left the Carnegie Non-European Library Service (Transvaal) in 1940. Mr. Dhlomo later served as librarian for the Ndongeni Bantu Library of the Durban Bantu Social Centre.

In addition to being a librarian, Mr. Dhlomo was a teacher, journalist, playwright, author, musician, and newspaper editor. He was part of the New African Movement, and wrote for the newspapers Umteteli wa Bantu and Ilanga Lase Natal. He was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and co-founded the National Union of African Youth (NUAY). Mr. Dhlomo passed away in 1956 in Durban, South Africa.

According to the WorldCat database, Tim Couzens published a biography in 1986 on Herbert Dhlomo called The New African: A Study of the Life and Work of H.I.E. Dhlomo. Another biography on Herbert Dhlomo, The Cultural Modernity of H.I.E. Dhlomo, was written by Ntongela Masilela in 2007. In 1985, a collection of Herbert Dhlomo's literary works were published in H.I.E. Dhlomo: Collected Works (edited by Tim Couzens and Nick Visser).

In 1999, Pitzer College in Claremont, California established the H.I.E. Dhlomo Center for African Intellectual History.

See related post: Carnegie Non-European Library Service (Transvaal) of South Africa

Update 12/09/2012:

Rolfes Robert Reginald Dhlomo (also known as R.R.R. Dhlomo) was the brother of Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo. Born in 1901, Rolfes Robert Reginald Dhlomo was the author of An African Tragedy: A Novel in English by A Zulu Writer, UShaka (Chaka): A Zulu Historical Novel of the Life of King Chaka, and Ucetshwayo: A Zulu Novel.  He also published stories in the newpapers Bantu World and Sjambok, and worked with his brother for the newspaper Ilanga Lase Natal. Both brothers were members of the Bantu Social Centre in Durban, South Africa. Rolfes Robert Reginald Dhlomo passed away in 1971.

See: Gaylard, Rob. "R.R.R. Dhlomo and the Early Black South African Short Story in English." Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern African 17.1 (2005): 52-69. Print. ; Cele, Mwelela. "Consolidation of  Common Purpose: A Brief History of the Durban Bantu Social Centre." The Thinker: For the Thought Leaders 33 (2011): 35, 37. PDF file. ; Manus, Vicki, Briault. Emerging Traditions: Toward a Postcolonial Stylistics of Black South African Fiction in English. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2011. 6, 42-44, 47. Print.

*Update 01/13/2013:

Both Herbert Dhlomo and his brother Rolfes Dhlomo attended Adams College, a school created for the education of black South Africans. Adams College was founded by Dr. Newton Adams of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1853, and is located in Amanzimtoti, South Africa. The school is still in operation today.

Note: The town of Amanzimtoti is said to have received its named from King Shaka, who ruled the Zulu nation from about 1816 until his assasination in 1828. During one of his military journeys, King Shaka stopped to drink water from a nearby river and said "Kanti amanz'amtoti" (means "So, the water is sweet" in Zulu). Today, Amanzimtoti is a popular tourist attraction and is home of the Umdoni Bird Sanctuary.

See: "Deaths." The Missionary Herald 67 (1871): 28-29. Print. ; Dube, Ernest F. "The Relationship between Racism and Education in South Africa." Harvard Educational Review 55.1 (1985): 95-96. Print. ; "American Board of Missions." Missionary Register  Feb. 1848: 67. Print. ; "King Shaka Zulu." South African History Online: Towards a People's History. South African History Online, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2013. ; "Durban, South Africa (Amanzimtoti, UmKomaas)." South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal. Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2013. ; "Historical Background." Adams College.  Adams College, 2013. Web. 13 Jan. 2013. ; Virji, Sumaiya. "Herbert Ernest Dhlomo." South African History Online: Towards a People's History. South African History Online, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Manus, Vicki, Briault. Emerging Traditions: Toward a Postcolonial Stylistics of Black South African Fiction in English. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2011. 6, 42-44, 47. Print.

Sources: Evers, 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. 39. 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. ; Cele, Mwelela. "Edendale's Literary Pioneer." The Witness 25 Jan. 2012:n.pag. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Language, Literature, and Intellectual History in South Africa: A Conversation about the New African Movement between Ntongela Masilela and Sandile Ngidi. Claremont: Pitzer College, 2005. PDF file. ; "A Brief History of the African National Congress." African National Congress: South Africa's National Liberation Movement. ANC, 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Masilela, Ntongela. The New African Movement: The Early Years. Claremont: Pitzer College, n.d. PDF file. ; Cele, Mwelela. "Consolidation of A Common Purpose: A Brief History of the Durban Bantu Social Centre." The Thinker: For the Thought Leaders 33 (2011): 34-38. PDF file. ; Cele, Mwelela. "Turning Oppression into Power." The Witness 17 Jan. 2012:n.pag. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; "Africa." The Crisis 40.6 (1933):137. 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): 57-80. Print. ; Kalley, Jacqueline A. "Libraries and Apartheid, with Particular Reference in the Transvaal, 1948-1992." Third World Libraries 6.2 (1996): n.pag. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Visser, N.W. "H.I.E. Dhlomo (1903-1956): The Re-emergence of an African Writer." English in Africa 1.2 (1974): 1-10. Print. ; Lopez, Steven. The Life and Times of HIE Dhlomo. Claremont: Pitzer College, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Virji, Sumaiya. "Herbert Ernest Dhlomo." South African History Online: Towards a People's History. South African History Online, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Terblanche, Erika. "Dhlomo, Herbert Isaac Ernest." Literatur im Kontext. Universität Wien, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. ; Manus, Vicki, Briault. Emerging Traditions: Toward a Postcolonial Stylistics of Black South African Fiction in English. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2011. 10, 41-42, 46, 161. Print. ; Olden, Anthony. Libraries in Africa: Pioneers, Policies, Problems. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1995. 23-25. Print.

Helen Price Sawyer Braxton: Hampton Institute Library School Graduate and Librarian at Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Missouri)

Helen Price Sawyer Braxton, a 1936 graduate of the library science program at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), was once a librarian at Alabama State Teachers College (now Alabama State University) and at the War-Time Civil Service Library at Fort McClellan, Alabama during World War II. In addition, Ms. Braxton was a founding member of the Beta Nu Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Later, Ms. Braxton was a librarian at the Manual Training High School in Bordentown, New Jersey. In 1951, she was hired as a librarian at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. That same year, Ms. Braxton and three other librarians at Lincoln University (Albert P. Marshall, Gertrude Franklin, and Mary McAfee Turner) attended the American Library Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois (July 8-14, 1951).

Update 10/11/2012:

Ms. Braxton remained at Lincoln University until 1955. After leaving, Ms. Braxton served as a librarian at the Tompkins Square Park Branch of the New York Public Library.

The Helen Sawyer Braxton Student Library Award was later created at Lincoln University in her honor.

Dudley Randall, librarian, poet, and founder of Broadside Press, was a co-worker of Ms. Braxton. She and Mr. Randall were both hired in 1951 by Lincoln University.

Update 12/26/2012:

Charles Wilbur Florence was president of Lincoln University from 1931-1937. His wife, Virginia Proctor Powell Florence was the first African American female to receive a degree in library science.

Update 04/12/2013:

See related posts: Annette Hoage Phinazee: Dean, Professor, Author, and Librarian and Bernice Appleton Wilder: First African American Director of the Gary Public Library (Gary, Indiana).

Sources: "Mrs. Helen Braxton Named Head of Journalism Library." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 7 Feb. 1951: 6. Print. ; "Ill. [i.e., Illinois] Woman Takes Library Post at Lincoln U. (Mo.)." Indianapolis Recorder 17 Feb. 1951: 7. Print. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington : Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 20. Print. ; "Librarians Attend Chicago Meeting." The Jefferson City Post-Tribune 5 July 1951: 10. Print. ; "Past Annual Conferences, 1876-Present." American Library Association. ALA, 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2o12. ; "History of Beta Nu Omega." Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Beta Nu Omega Chapter, Montgomery, AL.  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Beta Nu Omega Chapter, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. ; "Read Your Hometown Newspaper in J-Library." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 23 May 1951: 4. Print. ; "Page Announces New Pamphlets." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 7 Dec. 1951: 1. Print. ; "Page Has New Service System." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 7 June 1952: 1, 3. Print. ; "Faculty Spends Holidays Both Near and Far Away." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 7 Jan. 1955: 2. Print. ; "City News." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 20 Jan. 1956: 4. Print.  ; "Haynes Wins Library Award." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 29 Apr. 1966: 1. Print.

The E. Azalia Hackley Collection of Negro Music, Dance, and Drama (Detroit Public Library)

The E. Azalia Hackley Collection of Negro Music, Dance, and Drama was established at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library in 1943. The collection consists of sheet music, books, recordings, photos, and other materials relating to the history of African Americans in the performing arts. The collection is named for Emma Azalia Hackley (1867-1922), an African American singer, political activist, teacher, and lecturer. Ms. Hackley was active during the late 1800s and the early 1900s. She founded organizations such as the Hackley Choral Society, the Colored Women's League, and the Vocal Normal Institute of Chicago. Ms. Hackley passed away in 1922.

*Update 05/04/2015:

 The E. Azalia Hackley Collection was recently featured in the May/June 2015 issue of Michigan History:

Minor, Romie. "Preserving the Black Performance for Posterity." Michigan History 99.3 (2015): 50-55. Print.

See related posts: Clara Stanton Jones: ALA's First African American President ; The Mayme A. Clayton Library Museum and Cultural Center (MCL) ; and Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, 1874-1938: Noted Bibliophile, Collector, Curator,and Scholar.

Sources: Campbell, Dorothy Wilson. "Curators of African American Collections." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library of Science, 1980. 193. Print. ; Kinney, Sylvia. "The E. Azalia Hackley Collection." Ethnomusicology 5.3 (1961): 202-203. Print. ; LaBrew, A.R., and E.A. Hackley. Fifty Years of Programs Given in Memory of the E. Azalia Hackley Collection, 1943-1944. Detroit: Arthur LaBrew, 1999. Print. ; Peterson, Heather. "Hackley, Emma Azalia (1867-1922)." BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org, n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2012.

 

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The Educator and the Librarian: Dr. Charles E. Rochelle and Thelma N. Rochelle

Dr. Charles E. Rochelle, a 1917 graduate of the Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana State University), was born on July 3, 1895 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He worked as a teacher and principal in the public schools of Evansville, Indiana for 41 years. Most notably, Dr. Rochelle served as the principal of Lincoln High School, a school built for African American students in Evansville. He retired in 1962.

In 1933, Dr. Rochelle received his M.A. from the Indiana State Teachers College. In 1942,  he became the first African American to earned a PhD in education from the University of California at Berkley. Dr. Rochelle later served as a visiting professor at A & I University (now Tennessee State University) in Nashville, Tennessee ; was secretary-treasurer of the Indiana State Board of Vocational Education (1945-1958) ; and a member of the Advisory Committee on Education for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.. He also attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where he received his M.S. degree.

 

In addition, Dr. Rochelle was a veteran of World War I, a member of the American Legion, the Evansville Teachers Association, the Indiana State Teachers Association, and the National Education Association (NEA); and once served as a regional director for the American Teachers Association. In 1944, Dr. Rochelle and other African Americans rallied in support of Japanese American war veterans after officials from the American Legion Chapter of Hood River, Oregon removed their names from a memorial post.

 

In 1965,  Dr. Rochelle was appointed to the Indiana State Board of Vocational and Technical Education by then-Governor Roger D. Branigin. Four years later, on Saturday, May 3, 1969, the University of Evansville gave a dinner and tribute to Dr. Rochelle in honor of his life's work. He passed away on April 30, 1993 at the age of 98 in Evansville, Indiana.

 

His wife, Thelma N. Rochelle was appointed librarian for the Cherry Street Branch of the Evansville Public Library in 1942 (the Evansville Public Library is now the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public Library).  Mrs. Rochelle was a 1945 graduate of the Indiana State Library's Summer School for Librarians (formerly the Indiana Public Library Commission Summer School for Librarians). The Cherry Street Branch was a Carnegie library that provided services to the African American residents of Evansville, Indiana from 1914 until its closure in 1954.

See related posts: Article on Evansville, Indiana's Former African American Library Branch ; The Educator and the Librarian II: Horace Mann Bond and Julia Agnes Washington Bond

Update 12/10/2012:

To view a picture of Dr. and Mrs. Rochelle from the University of Southern Indiana's digital history collection on Evansville, Indiana, click on the link below:

http://cdm1819-01.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p181901coll18/id/2167

 

 

Sources: Library Occurrent 15.2 (1945): 1, 393. Print. ; "Indianapolis Visitor Honored with Party." Chicago Defender 3 Sept. 1938, natl. ed.: 13. Print. ; "Principal Charles Rochelle with Students in All-Black Lincoln High School in Evansville (Photo)." Hoosier History: This Far By Faith: Black Hoosier Heritage. Indianapolis: Indiana Humanities Council, n.d. 18. Print. ; "Evansville, Ind. History African American Minorities Photographs." Indiana Memory, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2010. ; Moorman, Mary Lynn J. "Just Gabbin'." The Evansville Argus 10 Oct. 1942: 3. Print. ; Holder, Marilyn J. "For Your Reading Pleasure We Recommend the Following Books at Cherry St. Library." The Evansville Argus 17 Sept. 1943: 4. Print. ; "Find Books Useful in Securing Promotions in War Plants." The Evansville Argus 19 Dec. 1942: 3. Print. ; "Yuletide Parties." The Evansville Argus 7 Jan. 1939: 3. Print. ; Chambers, William A. "Dr. C. Rochelle to Be Honored in Evansville." Indianapolis Recorder 3 May 1969: 1, 2. Print. ; "Governor Names Five to New State Vocational Board." Indianapolis Recorder 24 July 1965: 1. Print. ; Robinson, Greg. After Camp: Portraits in Midcentury Japanese American Life and Politics. Berkley : University of California Press, 2012. 163-164. Print. ; "Rochelle Again Heads Legion." The Evansville Argus 23 July 1938: 1. Print. ; "Evansville Teacher Chosen As Leader in Youth Council 2-Day Oakland Conference." The Evansville Argus 11 July 1942: 1. Print. ; "Lincoln Students Take Part in Mock Trial." The Evansville Argus 27 May 1939: 1. Print. ; "School News." The Evansville Argus 1 Nov. 1940: 1. Print. ; "Off to California." The Evansville Argus 10 May 1940: 1. Print. ; "Attention All Legion Members." The Evansville Argus 27 May 1939: 1. Print. ; "Evansville to Hold First Chautauqua." Indianapolis Recorder 28 July 1934: 1. Print. ; "Honor War Mothers' Program Highlighted by Rochelle's Review of Our Colored Soldiers." The Evansville Argus 16 May 1942: 1. Print.

Milton S. Byam: Librarian, Author, and Educator

Milton S. Byam was the first African American director of the District of Columbia Public Library (1972). He later became the first African American director of the Queens Borough Public Library System (1974). Mr. Byam also authored several articles:

 

Byam, Milton S. "A Librarian Grows in Brooklyn." The Black Librarian in America. Ed.   E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. 50-68. Print.

 

Byam, Milton S. "Brooklyn Public Library's District Library Scheme." Wilson Library Bulletin 35 (1961): 365-367. Print.

 

Byam, Milton S. "Consulting in Staff Development." Library Trends 28.3 (1980): 399-409. Print.

 

Byam, Milton S. "History of Branch Libraries." Library Trends 14.4 (1966): 368-373. Print.

 

Byam, Milton S. "Implications for Public Libraries." Collective Bargaining in Libraries. Ed. Frederick A. Schlipf. Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science, 1975. 117-121. Print.

 

 

In addition, Mr. Byam also served as chairman of the Department of Library Science at St. John's University (appointed July 1, 1968); deputy director of the Brooklyn Public Library; and was a graduate of the Columbia University School of Library Science (the school closed in 1992).

 

Sources: "Top Negro Librarians Air Views on Library Segregation." Jet 20.5 (1961): 24-25. Print. ; "Speaking of People." Ebony 23.12 (1968): 7. Print. ; "Washington, D.C., Public Library." Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. Ed. Allen, Kent, Harold Lancour, and Jay Daily. Vol. 32. New York: Dekker, 1981. 397-398. Print. ; Byam, Milton S. "A Librarian Grows in Brooklyn." The Black Librarian in America. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. 50-68. Print. ; "Dr. Philip Shiver is Keynote Speaker: Speakers Set for OLA Meeting." Ohio Libraries: Newsletter of the Ohio Library Association 6.6 (1976): 1, 6. Print ; "Public Library Open Sundays." D.C. Gazette 4.5 (1972): 14. 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 L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 10, 12. Print. 

The Colored School Department of the Cossitt Library (Memphis, Tennessee)

The Cossitt Library (Memphis, Tennessee) opened the Colored School Department of the Cossitt Library in 1913. This department was responsible for providing library services to African Americans in Memphis. Cecelia K. Yerby was the head of the department. The Cossitt Library also established services for African Americans at the Booker T. Washington High School, the Howe Collegiate Institute, and the Vance Branch Library.

See related posts: The Negro Branch of the Carnegie Library of Nashville (Nashville, Tennessee) ; The Free Colored Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library (Knoxville, Tennessee); and The Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library (Chattanooga, Tennessee).

Sources: Yerby, Cecelia K. "Good Reading for Negroes II: A Memphis Library." The Southern Workman 43.10 (1914): 541-543. Print. ; Miller, Ernest I. "Library Service for Negroes in Tennessee." Journal of Negro Education 10.4 (1941): 636-637. 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, 109-110, 112. Print. ; Du Mont, Rosemary Ruhig and William Caynon. "Education of Black Librarians." Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. Ed. Kent Allen, Harold Lancour, and Jay Daily. Vol. 45, suppl. 10. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1990. 111. Print.

 

African American Officers of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)

The first African American president of the American Association of Law Libraries was Carol Avery Nicholson.

Sources: Rush, Mila. "Firsts in Academic Law Libraries." American Association of Law Libraries. AALL-SIS, 22 Sept. 2006. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. ; "TS-SIS Long Time Member Profile: Carol Avery Nicholson." American Association of Law Libraries. AALL-Technical Services Special Interest Section, 4 Oct. 2006. Web. 29 Aug. 2012.
 

Ruth Johnson Hill was the first African American to serve as chair for the American Association of Law Libraries – Academic Libraries Special Interest Section. She was also the first African American to chair the organization’s Council of Special Interest Section Chairs.

Sources: Rush, Mila. "Firsts in Academic Law Libraries." American Association of Law Libraries. AALL-SIS, 22 Sept. 2006. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. ; "ALL-SIS Officers and Committees 2001-2002." American Association of Law Libraries. ALL-SIS, 17 June 2002. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.

Allen Mercer Daniel, the first law librarian of Howard University (1940-1956), was also the first African American member of the American Association of Law Libraries.

Sources: Berry, Cynthia. "Allen Mercer Daniel: A Leader in Librarianship." AALL Spectrum 4 (2000): 12. Print. ; Centennial Committee of the Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section. "Firsts in Academic Law Libraries." American Association of Law Libraries - Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section. American Association of Law Libraries, 22 Sept. 2006. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. ; "Daniel Online Resource Guide." Howard University School of Law Library. Howard University School of Law Library, 6 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. ; "Introducing the AALL Hall of Fame." AALL Spectrum Jul. 2010: 14. Print.

Judy Dimes-Smith was the first African American elected to the American Association of Law Libraries Executive Board.

Sources: Centennial Committee of the Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section. "Firsts in Academic Law Libraries." American Association of Law Libraries - Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section. American Association of Law Libraries, 22 Sept. 2006. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. ; "Memorials: Judy Barbara Dimes-Smith." Law Library Journal 86 (1994): 373-374. Print. ; Howland, Joan S. "Focus on Diversity : Diversity Deferred." Law Library Journal 90 (1998): 561. Print. ; Dimes-Smith, Judy. "Law Librarianship: An African-American Perspective." Law Library Lights 35 (1992): 4. Print.