Black History Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Call Number Podcast: A Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones

April 28, 2021

American Libraries senior editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart speaks with New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project and honorary chair of Preservation Week, about the project’s origins, her team’s research, and why community archives are vital to preserving history. If you have feedback for the podcast team, email us or … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: A Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones →

400 Years of Black American Life

By Phil Morehart | January 23, 2021

Speaking January 23 at the Opening Session of ALA Midwinter Virtual 2021, the pair described both the significance of the volume and the process of compiling it. It features the work of 90 Black writers—novelists, journalists, poets, historians, and philosophers—on different eras of the Black American experience. “We brought together a community of Black writers … Continue reading 400 Years of Black American Life →

Voices from the Land

By Terra Dankowski | January 22, 2021

“Farming is an integral part of our national identity,” she told viewers from the Diversity In Publishing stage at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits Virtual on January 22. “Land represents freedom, independence, and self-determination.” But Baszile, herself a great-great-granddaughter of a farmer and beekeeper who lived near Tuskegee, Alabama, saw that Black … Continue reading Voices from the Land →

Graphic: Emily Drabinski, Dalena Hunter, and Teresa Y. Neely

Women’s Activism Is Black Activism

By Sallyann Price | June 25, 2020

Across the board, the panelists linked women’s activism in libraries to the activism of Black women and women of color working in a field dominated by white women, with frequent disparities between the credentialed professionals and the more diverse pool of paraprofessional library workers. “[These disparities are] hard to think about and hard to grapple … Continue reading Women’s Activism Is Black Activism →

Golden Arches, Black Franchises

By Terra Dankowski | June 25, 2019

“The reason I’m conversant in [race, social justice, and public policy] topics is because it all started at the library,” she told those gathered for the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services President’s Program at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 24. Chatelain reminisced about being dropping off … Continue reading Golden Arches, Black Franchises →

ALA Honors African Americans Who Fought Library Segregation

July 3, 2018

Resolution to Honor African Americans Who Fought Library Segregation Whereas the system of “Jim Crow” laws and customs officially existed into the 1960s—a century after the official end of slavery in the United States; Whereas virulent racism, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually … Continue reading ALA Honors African Americans Who Fought Library Segregation →

Members of an African drum and dance ensemble lead patrons in a performance routine as part of Richland Library's day-long Black History Month Fair on January 28, 2017. Photo: Richland Library

Every Month Is Black History Month

By Quincy Pugh | March 1, 2018

Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina, needed a better way to reach its African-American community. Quincy Pugh, film and sound manager, explains how the decision to celebrate black history year-round and start “I Have a Problem with That”—a series of panel discussions that address challenging social issues—has boosted program attendance and engagement among its target … Continue reading Every Month Is Black History Month →

Jessie Carney Smith in 1965, her first year as a university librarian at Fisk University in Nashville.

Blazing Trails

By Greg Landgraf | January 2, 2018

American Libraries spoke with five leading African-American librarians about their careers, the changes they have witnessed over the decades, and the current issues in librarianship. While no two people have the same story, all five interviewees note inclusivity as an important theme. They discuss libraries as safe havens, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the … Continue reading Blazing Trails →

Patricia Bearden (left) and Raquel Flores-Clemons present “Partners in History: Chicago State University Archive and International Society of Sons and Daughters of Slave Ancestry Digital Collaboration" at DPLAfest in Chicago on April 20.

DPLAfest Comes to Chicago

By John Amundsen | April 25, 2017

Several presentations highlighted efforts to document, preserve, and share digital collections on social justice and community engagement. Preserving African-American history on Chicago’s South Side “Partners in History: Chicago State University Archive and International Society of Sons and Daughters of Slave Ancestry Digital Collaboration,” led by Chicago State University (CSU) Archivist Raquel Flores-Clemons, Patricia Bearden, president … Continue reading DPLAfest Comes to Chicago →

Former Broward County (Fla.) Library Director Samuel F. Morrison stands next to a replica of himself. It stands at the entrance of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale.

This Former Library Director Is Beside Himself

By Alison Marcotte | October 9, 2015

Morrison, who received his master’s in library science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, became director of the Broward County library system in 1990 and retired in 2003. As director, he began campaigning to build AARLCC, and in 2002, the 60,000-square-foot facility opened as a branch of Broward County Library. Its collection of books, … Continue reading This Former Library Director Is Beside Himself →

Black History Month Graphic Novels for Your Collection

By Sarah Hunter | February 5, 2015

Need to refresh your Black History Month offerings? Here are some graphic novels, both fiction and nonfiction, that address Black History in dynamic, engaging ways. For Adults: Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White By Lila Quintero Weaver. Illus. by the author. 2012. Univ. of Alabama, paper, $24.95 (9780817357146). Perry County, Alabama, was a hotbed … Continue reading Black History Month Graphic Novels for Your Collection →

Latest Library Links

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Kim Bellware writes: “A 5th-grade classroom has become the latest collision point for America’s cultural reckoning with racial bias, police violence, and academic freedom after Florida’s second-largest school district temporarily pulled an award-winning youth novel over a police complaint that the book was ‘propaganda’ against law enforcement.”

Washington Post, May 10
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In Closing the Impact Gap, a survey conducted by the UK’s Emerald Publishing, researchers say they’re not satisfied with how academic publishing presents their work to a world that needs to understand it. A total of 1,500 academics in an international pool drawn from more than 100 countries were queried for this study—45% say they agree that research papers are too long, 57% say they feel that research summaries could help to more effectively present findings to decision-makers outside of academia, and 64% say that videos, podcasts, and infographics could help when presenting research.

Publishing Perspectives, May 11
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Amy Dodson has been named the 2020 recipient of the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. Dodson, director of the Douglas County (Nev.) Public Library, faced enormous public criticism last year for posting a diversity statement on the library’s Facebook page that included the line, “We support #BlackLivesMatter.” The Douglas County sheriff perceived it as support for violence against law enforcement and said library staff should no longer call 911 for help with disturbances, which led to national media coverage and protests.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iSchool, May 11
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Starting May 12, families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic can get help from a new federal program. The $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program, administered by the Federal Communications Commission, provides a discount up to $50 per month for broadband service (or up to $75 per month on qualifying tribal lands) and a one-time discount up to $100 for a laptop, desktop, or tablet computer purchased through a participating provider. Library staffers in all settings and other broadband equity advocates can help raise awareness of this new emergency funding.

AL: The Scoop, May 11
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Mercedes Rutherford-Patten and Nicki Viso write: “Across the country, the makeup of university student populations is changing. First-generation students are organizing on campuses and prompting MLIS programs—such as the one we were enrolled in at San José State University iSchool—to rethink how they are engaging with students. As representatives of the first generation of college graduates in our families, we face a distinct set of challenges entering grad school.”

American Libraries column, May 11
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Author Carmen Maria Machado writes: “I have teamed up with Margaret Atwood, Jodi Picoult, Jacqueline Woodson, and many other authors whose works have been targeted for removal from class reading lists in Leander, Texas. In conjunction with PEN America, a group that promotes free literary expression, we wrote a letter to the school district demanding that our books remain available to students. While our books may contain passages that are potentially uncomfortable, challenging, or even offensive, exposure to our books is vital to expanding minds, affirming experiences, creating appreciation for the arts and building empathy—in short, respecting the adults that the students in Leander, Texas, will soon become.”

New York Times, May 11
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Queens (N.Y.) Public Library Assistant Director Fatma Ghailan writes: “Libraries have long been seen as safe havens for students, providing homework assistance and summer reading programs. Over the last decade, libraries have continued to embrace their role in training adults as well, offering them ways to learn digital skills that employers desperately need.”

American Libraries column, May

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