A Right to Read : Segregation and Civil Rights in Alabama's Public Libraries, 1900–1965

A dramatic chapter in American cultural history. * Winner of the Alabama Library Association’s Alabama Author Award for Nonfiction Patterson Toby Graham is Director of the Digital Library of Georgia at the University of Georgia in Athens. The Tradition Of American Public Libraries Is Closely Tied To The Perception That These Institutions Should Be Open To All Without Regard To Social Background. Such Was Not The Case In The Segregated South, However, Where Public Libraries Barred Entry To Millions Of African Americans And Provided Tacit Support For A Culture Of White Supremacy. A Right To Read Is The First Book To Examine Public Library Segregation From Its Origins In The Late 19th Century Through Its End During The Tumultuous Years Of The 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Graham Focuses On Alabama, Where African Americans, Denied Access To White Libraries, Worked To Establish And Maintain Their Own Negro Branches. These Libraries - Separate But Never Equal - Were Always Underfunded And Inadequately Prepared To Meet The Needs Of Their Constituencies.--jacket. Black Libraries And White Attitudes, The Early Years: Birmingham And Mobile, 1918-1931 -- Birmingham And The Booker T Washington Branch Library -- Mobile And The Davis Avenue Branch Library -- Black Libraries And White Attitudes -- The Depression Years -- Black Libraries And Philanthropy During The Depression: Walker County -- The Works Progress Administration And Black Libraries -- The Tennessee Valley Authority: Black Libraries And Regional Development -- Welfare Capitalism And The National Youth -- Administration: The Slossfield Negro Branch Library -- African-american Communities And The Black Public -- Library Movement, 1941-1954 -- The Dulcina Deberry Branch Library, Huntsville -- The Union Street Branch Library, Montgomery -- Birmingham Negro Advisory Committee. The Read-in Movement: Desegregating Alabama's Public Libraries, 1960-1963 -- Mobile, 1961 -- Montgomery, 1962 -- Huntsville, 1962 -- Birmingham, 1963 -- Anniston, 1963 -- Librarians And The Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1965 -- Juliette Hampton Morgan And The Montgomery Bus Boycott -- Emily Wheelock Reed And The Rabbits' Wedding Controversy -- Patricia Blalock And The Selma Public Library -- The American Library Association -- The Alabama Library Association -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliographic Essay -- Contemporary Literature On Segregated Libraries, 1913-1953 -- Contemporary Literature On Segregated Libraries, 1954-1972 -- Atlanta University Theses -- American Library Association -- Library History Secondary Works -- Segregated Libraries And Progressivism -- The Civil Rights Movement In Alabama -- Other Historical Works On Race -- Unpublished Sources. Patterson Toby Graham. A Shorter Condensed Version Of This Research Was First Published As A Journal Article Entitled 'public Librarians And The Civil Rights Movement: Alabama, 1955-1965,' In The Library Quarterly 71 (january 2001): 1-27--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [139]-161) And Index. University Alabama Press Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Booker T. Washington Branch in Birmingham, 1919 30 Davis Avenue Branch, Mobile, 1931 40 Mobile Public Library, 1926 40 Elizabeth Parks Beamgaurd visits the Dulcina DeBerry Branch, 1951 72 Bertha Pleasant Williams and the Montgomery “Friends of the Library,” 1960 79 Montgomery City-County Library, 1961 97 Montgomery’s Cleveland Avenue Branch, 1961 98 Sit-in at the Birmingham Public Library, 1963 105 Miles College student speaks to librarians, 1963 106 Anniston’s Carnegie Library, circa 1938 109 Cover of The Rabbits’ Wedding, 1958 122 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 18 1. Black Libraries and White Attitudes, The Early Years: Birmingham and Mobile, 1918–1931 23 Birmingham and the Booker T. Washington Branch Library 26 Mobile and the Davis Avenue Branch Library 34 2. Black Libraries and White Attitudes II: The Depression Years 43 Black Libraries and Philanthropy during the Depression: Walker County 44 The Works Progress Administration and Black Libraries 49 The Tennessee Valley Authority: Black Libraries and Regional Development 53 Welfare Capitalism and the National Youth Administration: The Sloss¤eld Negro Branch Library 60 3. African-American Communities and the Black Public Library Movement, 1941–1954 66 The Dulcina DeBerry Branch Library, Huntsville 66 The Union Street Branch Library, Montgomery 73 Birmingham Negro Advisory Committee 79 4. The Read-In Movement: Desegregating Alabama’s Public Libraries, 1960–1963 86 Mobile, 1961 88 Montgomery, 1962 92 Huntsville, 1962 98 Birmingham, 1963 99 Anniston, 1963 108 5. Librarians and the Civil Rights Movement, 1955–1965 116 Juliette Hampton Morgan and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 117 Emily Wheelock Reed and The Rabbits’ Wedding Controversy 119 Patricia Blalock and the Selma Public Library 129 The American Library Association 137 The Alabama Library Association 143 Conclusion 148 Notes 156 Bibliographic Essay 180 Contemporary Literature on Segregated Libraries, 1913–1953 180 Contemporary Literature on Segregated Libraries, 1954–1972 183 Atlanta University Theses 185 American Library Association 186 Library History Secondary Works 188 Segregated Libraries and Progressivism 191 The Civil Rights Movement in Alabama 193 Other Historical Works on Race 198 Unpublished Sources 199 ISBN-13:,9780817353711 This original and significant contribution to the historiography of the civil rights movement and education in the South details a dramatic and disturbing chapter in American cultural history. The tradition of American public libraries is closely tied to the perception that these institutions are open to all without regard to social background. Such was not the case in the segregated South, however, where public libraries barred entry to millions of African Americans and provided tacit support for a culture of white supremacy. A Right to Read is the first book to examine public library segregation from its origins in the late 19th century through its end during the tumultuous years of the 1960s civil rights movement. Graham focuses on Alabama, where African Americans, denied access to white libraries, worked to establish and maintain their own "Negro branches." These libraries-separate but never equal-were always underfunded and inadequately prepared to meet the needs of their constituencies. By 1960, however, African Americans turned their attention toward desegregating the white public libraries their taxes helped support. They carried out "read-ins" and other protests designed to bring attention and judicial pressure upon the segregationists. Patterson Toby Graham contends that, for librarians, the civil rights movement in their institutions represented a conflict of values that pitted their professional ethics against regional mores. He details how several librarians in Alabama took the dangerous course of opposing segregationists, sometimes with unsettling results. This groundbreaking work built on primary evidence will have wide cross-disciplinary appeal. Students and scholars of southern and African-American history, civil rights, and social science, as well as academic and public librarians, will appreciate Graham's solid research and astute analysis. Patterson Toby Graham is Head of Special Collections at the University of Southern Mississippi. His research on library segregation has won four awards, including the ALISE-Eugene Garfield Dissertation Award. Machine generated contents note: I. Black Libraries and White Attitudes, The Early Years: Birmingham and Mobile, I9I8-193I Birmingham and the Booker T Washington Branch Library Mobile and the Davis Avenue Branch Library 2. Black Libraries and White Attitudes II: The Depression Years Black Libraries and Philanthropy during the Depression: Walker County The Works Progress Administration and Black Libraries The Tennessee Valley Authority: Black Libraries and Regional Development Welfare Capitalism and the National Youth Administration: The Slossfield Negro Branch Library 3. African-American Communities and the Black Public Library Movement, 1941-1954 The Dulcina DeBerry Branch Library, Huntsville The Union Street Branch Library, Montgomery Birmingham Negro Advisory Committee 4. The Read-In Movement: Desegregating Alabama's Public Libraries, 1960-1963 Mobile, I96I Montgomery, 1962 Huntsville, 1962 Birmingham, 1963 Anniston, I963 5. Librarians and the Civil Rights Movement, x955-I965 Juliette Hampton Morgan and the Montgomery Bus Boycott Emily Wheelock Reed and The Rabbits' Wedding Controversy Patricia Blalock and the Selma Public Library The American Library Association The Alabama Library Association Conclusion Notes Bibliographic Essay Contemporary Literature on Segregated Libraries, 1913-I953 Contemporary Literature on Segregated Libraries, 1954-1972 Atlanta University Theses American Library Association Library History Secondary Works Segregated Libraries and Progressivism The Civil Rights Movement in Alabama Other Historical Works on Race Unpublished Sources. A dramatic chapter in American cultural history. * Winner of the Alabama Library Associationrs"s Alabama Author Award for Nonfiction Patterson Toby Grahamis Director of the Digital Library of Georgia at the University of Georgia in Athens