​In the last newsletter, I wrote about the importance of the Internet Archive and the need to allow access to information for everyone. I had planned to write about the Arturo A. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. May 8 was the 100th anniversary of 135th Street Library in Harlem opening its Department of Negro Literature, History and Prints, which would eventually become the Schomburg Center.
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Schomburg, was an Afro-Puerto Rican of mixed heritage who dedicated his life to developing a collection of archives of books, art, manuscripts and artifacts of African diaspora innovation and excellence. He along with Carter G. Woodson contributed greatly to the scholarship of Black history. And the work of many Black librarians cultivating collections and archives themselves helped provide access to Schomburg and Woodson's scholarship.
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With the firing of the Carla Hayden, the first female and Black Librarian of Congress, by the Trump regime on May 8 (not a coincidence), it is all too obvious that the erasure of Black history and those who support their scholarship is a key component to the disempowerment and control of Black people (all Black people) in the United States.

So, in honor of Carla Hayden, Black history scholarship and librarianship, here are a few Black librarians you should know. I will leave resources at the bottom so you can find out more information about these Black pioneers.

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Daniel Alexander Payne Murray

March 3, 1852 – December 31, 1925

Daniel A. P. Murray was the second Black American employed at the Library of Congress. The Library hired him when he was eighteen in 1871. In 1874, he became the personal assistant to the Librarian of Congress at the time, Ainsworth Rand Spofford. Seven years later, Murray became assistant librarian of the Library and remained in that position for 41 years. He initiated the collection of Black books and artifacts, curating the Exhibit of American Negroes for the 1900 Paris Exposition. The exhibit was a milestone in presenting Black intellectual and cultural life globally. He also compiled the Library's first bibliography of African American books.

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George Washington Forbes*
​Jul 2, 1864 – Apr 1, 1927

George Washington Forbes became the first Black librarian in Boston in 1896.

(He) was hired as one of the first librarians for the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library, which opened that year on Cambridge Street. Forbes thus became the first Black librarian to work in the Boston Public Library system. At the West End Branch, Forbes served the children and adults of the West End’s Black community, and then the West End’s Jewish community after Black West Enders largely moved to the South End.West End Branch from 1896 until his death in 1927. (West End Museum)
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In addition to being a librarian, he was also a co-founder (with businessman and activist William Monroe Trotter) and editor of the Boston Guardian newspaper. He was quite active politically, and wrote somewhat provocative editorials which W.E.B. Du Bois said:

The Guardian was bitter, satirical, and personal; but it was earnest, and it published facts. It attracted wide attention among colored people; it circulated among them all over the country; it was quoted and discussed. I did not wholly agree with the Guardian, and indeed only a few Negroes did, but nearly all read it and were influenced by it. (Excerpt from Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept, New York, 1940, pp. 72–73.)

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*Historical erasure in process

Please note in many places you will see this man listed as George W. Forbes:

He is NOT. This error comes from the book African-Americans in Boston: More than 350 Years, by Robert C. Hayden. Unfortunately, writers continue to identify the photo incorrectly. The man in the picture above is George Shannon Forbes, a Harvard professor of Chemistry. When I initially saw the photo, I kept wondering if this was the correct image. Sure enough, a note on the Wikipedia page about the photo states:

This photo is of my grandfather, George Shannon Forbes, who taught Chemistry at Harvard and passed in 1979 at the age of 97.

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Here is the same picture on a the cover of Chemical and Engineering News from 1951.

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Unfortunately, even on the West End Museum website (from where the quote about George Washington Forbes comes), they have this picture AND the obituary image on the same page! Even with the poor-ish quality of the obit photo, it's clear these are not the same men. I believe it's important to honor the memory of both of them appropriately. Erasure doesn't just arise from malicious intent; it can also come from lazy and/or erroneous research. The result is the same.
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​EDIT: We contacted The West End Museum and they have updated their website, removing the image of George Shannon Forbes.

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Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue
​March 6, 1866 – November 10, 1935

Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue was a religious leader, educator, and the first African American to head a public library in the United States when he became Head of the Western Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library in 1905. Blue also established a training program in 1911 that trained dozens of Black librarians and clerks when few educational options existed for African Americans in library science. Many people throughout the country sought his expertise in establishing library branches for Black people.

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Edward C. Williams
​February 11, 1871 – December 24, 1929

Many consider Edward C. Williams the first professionally trained Black librarian–meaning, the first documented Black American to graduate from a library school–in the United States. After graduating, he was hired as Assistant Librarian of Hatch Library at Western Reserve University (WRU). In 1898, Williams became the school's head librarian. Subsequently, he became the chief librarian at Howard University. A gifted writer and educator, Williams shaped library science education in the United States.

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Vivian G. Harsh,
​May 27, 1890 – August 17, 1960

Vivian G. Harsh became the first Black librarian in the Chicago Public Library system on February 26, 1924, after working her way up from being a library clerk and graduating from Simmons College Library School in Boston. Massachusetts. She collected rare books and artifacts related to Black history while facing resistance from the Chicago Public Library administrators. In 1932, Vivian G. Harsh was named head librarian of the George Cleveland Hall Branch Library. By the 1930s, she had the basis for what would come to be called “The Special Negro Collection” and it grew due to the donations of Black artworks, artifacts, books, and funds from artists, writers and financial benefactors.

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Catherine Allen Latimer
​1895 - 1948

Howard graduate Catherine Latimer was the first Black librarian in the New York Public Library system in 1920 at Harlem's 135th Street library (now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture). Latimer was instrumental in developing the Harlem branch's Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints, and created a news clipping file documenting covering the Black experience, later turning those files into scrapbooks. Latimer began integrating bibliophile Arturo Schomburg's collection of manuscripts, pamphlets, rare books, and other artifacts of Black history in 1926 after the branch acquired it, at one point working with Schomburg to integrate his rare books into the Division's archives. In addition to developing the Division, Latimer partnered with fellow Black librarian Dorothy Porter to create a Black poetry index.

​The only known footage of Latimer (with Arturo Schomburg).​

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Black histories matter.

Black stories matter.

Black librarians matter.

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We hope you enjoyed our newsletter! We have released one of our first books, The Path to Juneteenth, as a FREE download, perfect for the upcoming Juneteenth! We would love for anyone interested in the book to sign up for the mailing list.

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Resources:

Handbook of Black librarianship, Josey, E. J., 1924-2009; DeLoach, Marva L. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press 2000
Lyman, Darryl. Great African-American Women J.David, Middle Village New York, 1999

The Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/​

Wikipedia - wikipedia.com

Daniel Alexander Payne Murray
​The Legacy of Daniel A. P. Murray As Told Through Photography from the 1900 Paris Exposition​

George Washington Forbes​
​https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=crisisnaacp
​​https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/george-washington-forbes/​

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*Historical erasure in process

Chemical and Engineering Science Cover, June 4, 1951, Volume 29, Issue 23 - https://pubs.acs.org/toc/cenear/29/23​

Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue
​https://kdl.kyvl.org/digital/collection/lfpl-revblue/id/325/rec/11
​​https://kdl.kyvl.org/digital/collection/lfpl-revblue/id/309/rec/14​

Edward C. Williams
​http://dclibrarylabs.org/blkren/bios/williamsec.html​
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​https://kdl.org/blogs/post/legacy-and-leadership-celebrating-black-librarians-past-and-present-edward-christopher-williams/​

Vivian G. Harsh

Grossman, Ron. "CHICAGO'S MOTHER OF BLACK HISTORY: VIVIAN HARSH, THE CITY'S FIRST BLACK LIBRARIAN, COLLECTED ESSENTIAL BOOKS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE." Chicago Tribune, 02 Feb. 2020, p. 18.

Vivian G. Harsh Society
​http://harshsociety.org/vghs-history/​

Catherine Allen Latimer
​https://aaregistry.org/story/catherine-allen-latimer-librarian-born/​