Last month in October we observed both American Archives Month and Informational Literacy Awareness Month. Within the proclamation, President Obama acknowledges the challenges that everyday citizens face as the amount of information we receive and process on a regular basis has increased exponentially over the years. He encourages us to “recognize the important role information plays in our daily lives, and appreciate the need for a greater understanding of its impact.” 

 

Read President Obama’s National Information Literacy Awareness Month Proclamation Here [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2009-10-07/pdf/E9-24290.pdf] 

 

And who better to highlight in this blog post than those who continually care for the information literacy of others than the librarians within the Behind the Veil Collection.  

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When using the occupation filter, you will find that there are a total of thirty-four librarians within the collection. One of them an archivist [link to the last blog post], others are also classified as teachers, a lawyer, and even a school librarian. Most of the oral histories belonging to these chief information officers can be found under the North Carolina location tag, with Louisiana coming in as a close second. You may find when searching through these librarians (as well as other parts of the collection) that some of these librarians cannot be accessed, such as Joan Coco’s interview and Carnell Clay, but don’t worry! You can always submit a request to receive a digital copy of the file and if you need some help submitting the request you can contact rlrepro@duke.edu. 

 

There is much to be learned from the librarians within the collection. Much like the archivists, there are not many people that know specifically what librarians do. We often imagine them within libraries, finding and placing books on a shelf, but the interviews within the collection tell us more. Listeners learn not only about the different task that librarians did a various job, the condition of public schools during the time of segregation, and their lives outside of librarianship.  

 

For example, Georgia Sutton who was born in New Bern, North Carolina in 1929 became what was known as a teacher librarian. She attended North Carolina College in Durham (later known as North Carolina Central) because it was one of the only Black colleges that offered a degree in Library Science. This was also the case for Arabelle Bryant who grew up in a small neighborhood not far from Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Bullock explains that when she attended the school in the early 40s, that the Library Science degree was only offered as a minor and thus those who wanted to graduate with it had to choose another major. 

 

Part 1 43:35 “…I majored in Mathematics and minored in Library Science, which was kind of an odd combination because usually it was English or Social Studies or something like that as a major, but I didn’t want either one of those. What I really wanted to do was—my sister was a Home Economics teacher and I wanted to major in Home Economics and minor Library Science, but you couldn’t do that. So, I had to choose. I chose Mathematics. So, my major was really in mathematics. And later they did eventually break up to a full library science program. So I had to go back summers and get my degree in Library Science” (Arabelle Bulluck Bryant) 

 

Condescendingly, after graduating Bryant went to New Bern to work within the school system and Sutton landed her first job in Quitman, Georgia. Instead of going back home, Sutton decided to go to Georgia because they paid year-round, versus in North Carolina where they only paid 9 months out of the year.  

 

Sutton and Bryant both speak about the conditions of public schools during their tenure as teacher librarians. Bryant in New Bern mentions that the newspapers were “all showing how bad the white schools were, old, run-down toilets and things… And so, you know if the whites were like that, imagine what the Black schools were like.” She began teaching at West Street, the only public school as a librarian and math teacher, teaching only math during her first year. She did not work in the library until the current librarian left the school a year later. This is because in North Carolina, as well as all over the south, many schools did not hire full time librarians. Sutton, who also taught math was working during the time of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.  And while she could not remember her feelings toward the decision, she did look forward to Black students being “exposed to all the things that White children were exposed to because under segregation, especially in the South, there was a tremendous difference in how the schools were set up or the materials that were used or given.” Sutton would also teach world history and social studies, speaking to the challenges of being able to teach her children history that pertained to their own heritage. When Rhonda Mawhood, one of the interviewers asked Georgia Sutton whether she was able to teach her students Black history, Sutton answered bluntly: 

 

Part 38:54 “The only way you were going to would do that, you’d have to sneak that in Now. It was just never included in textbooks. Some teachers did it. It was a part of their curriculum but not of the schools… I do know something about my cultural heritage and whatever. But the children today know very little. I will tell you why. For one thing, the White teachers are not knowledgeable of African-American history and they don’t want to be. The majority of them could care less about a Black child’s heritage and he’s being cheated. I feel very strongly about that.” (Georgia Sutton) 

 

And while there are a lot of similarities between the two librarians, one component that sticks out from Sutton’s interview, that was not found in Bryant’s was her mentioning the reason she wanted to become a librarian.  

 

Part 2 34:24: “You must remember there were not many avenues open to us. Teaching was one of them. In fact, it was the main one. As I told you, it was prestigious to be a teacher in the community. You were looked up to. Then too, to tell you the truth, I really liked children. I always have liked to read, and that’s why I went into library science. It was that book thing that got me involved in that, and I still read a great deal” (Georgia Sutton) 

 

Similarly, Sandra Moye Wilson [Sandra Wilson interview record, 1994 June 09 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository, a Durham native born in 1945, spoke about her love for books and the joy that she found at the library. While she does not plainly state this is what led her into the librarianship, she does state that she knew she was an adult at the age of 10 because “I could take my other brothers and sister and walk them to the library by myself.” Wilson was listed as a librarian but does not talk much about her career. Yet, she does mention that she was active in the NAACP at an early age, helping with voter registration and protests.  

 

Anne McKay Ducan [Anne Duncan interview recording, 1993 June 02 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository] also has a shorter interview and mentions she too participated in organizations outside of her profession. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta and a part of the Hampton Alumni Association. She graduated from Hampton University in 1934, double majoring in English, after attending a high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina where she was born.  

 

2:46 “Hampton was a beacon during that time. There seemed to be two choices among the young people who grew up in Fayetteville, Howard University and Hampton Institute. And if you didn’t make it to either one of those, then you were more than apt to remain at home and go Fayetteville State. It was called State Normal then. It’s now Fayetteville University.” (Anne Mackay Ducan) 

 

Ducan would attend college at the age of fifteen, graduating at the age of nineteen. She worked as a teacher for about ten years and then obtained another bachelor’s degree, this time in Library Science from Atlanta. Within her career she would serve as a librarian at the Avery Institute in Charleston, SC and then receive her Master’s in Library Science from Catholic University in Washington. She would work at North Carolina Central’s law library for 25 years, where she enjoyed her occupation the most.  

While Sadie Hugh was originally from Texarkana, TX she too was a librarian that worked in Durham, North Carolina, at not only North Carolina Central, but also at the Stanford Warren Library [The History of Stanford L. Warren Branch Library Exhibit (durhamcountylibrary.org)], which is currently located on Fayetteville St.  

She began working at the Standofrd Warren Library in the mid-40s and from her interview you can tell that she truly enjoyed her time there. She recalled that there was a public school that was down the block from library, but it was important that they as librarians reached the parents first in order to get to the children, a common sentiment within many of these interviews that involve education.  

 

Part 2 22:40 “But the children would come from school and the parents who were interested in helping their children, they knew that the library was the first stopping place. And we did a library, very, very wonderful things with the children…: I would take them in and develop programs for the children there— Then we decided that we should give the Children’s Library a name. And I put on a contest of the children to come up with things that they would like for their library to be. And one little girl came up with Key Corner, which was perfect. And she won first prize. So, it’s still the children’s library there for the children’s room. It’s called Key Corner.” 

She would continue working at the Stanford Warren Library for eleven years and then transition over to North Carolina Central, gaining her master’s degree in Library Science at the institution and working there for twenty-one years. She would work at the library within administration but mentions that she really enjoyed working with the children at the public library.  

 

Part 2 19:57 “I enjoyed working with children very much. I really did. But I liked books and it meant that getting into more academic part of it was good for me.”  

 

Hughley would work at North Carolina Central for twenty-one years. In that time, she would serve as the President of the Durham Library Association, serve on the National Board of Women’s International, she was a member of the Democratic National Committee and an honorary board member of the United Nations board of directors for the Orange Counties.

 

These are just a few of the librarians whose impactful stories can be found within the Behind the Veil Collection. Their legacies have shaped the history of Black librarianship and also serve as inspiration for future and present-day librarians. Here at the John Hope Franklin Research Center, we encourage you to delve deeper into this rich collection, where each narrative reflects a journey of resilience and historical relevance!

 

Welcome Back to Durham!

School is back in session and we at the John Hope Franklin Research Center would like to welcome back all the students! For September, we want to focus on the place that so many students, academics, and residents call home, Durham, North Carolina.

You cannot talk about the history of black business without mentioning the legacy of Black Wall Streets. The collective effort of African Americans through business ownership and the growth of communities through increased financial means was a product of Jim Crow and segregation throughout the South. After the Civil War, while still barred from opportunities of their white counterparts, African Americans took advantage of their new status as citizens by taking matters into their own hands and creating the American dream for themselves.

In the late 19^th, early 20^th century places like the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Auburn Historic district in Atlanta, Georgia, Farish Street in Jackson Mississippi, and West Ninth Street in Little Rock, Arkansas were filled with insurance agencies, banks, barber shops and other black owned businesses. More importantly they served as cultural hubs that fostered community collectiveness through churches, clubs and organizations, and schools.

And because we are located in the beautiful and historic city of Durham, it is only right to discuss the history of Black Wall Street that prospered in the Hayti District, once located between Pettigrew and Fayetteville Streets. This area was filled with black business and neighborhoods that were the homes of many prominent African Americans figures. Some of the people found within the Behind the Veil Collection were a part of this historic time, and speak in detail about their lives and the lives of others around them. This week, we learn about these people.

“When Harlem in New York City became the Mecca of the “New Negro” and the center of the Negro Renaissance, the capital of the black bourgeoisie was Durham, North Carolina,” Black Bourgeoisie by E. Franklin Frazier

After W.E.B. DuBois visited Durham in 1912 he wrote “Three men began the economic building of black Durham: a minister with college training, a physician with professional training, and a barber who saved his money.”( The Legacy of Durham’s Black Wall Street | Discover Durham) The three men that DuBois was referencing was Aaron M. Moore, John H. Merrick, and Charles C. Spaulding. Also known as “Triumvirate,” together they grew the first black business that would create the bridge for the creation of other businesses: the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Started in 1898 (and moving to Parish Street in 1904) NC Mutual, as it is commonly known, would provide investment opportunities, small business loans, and life insurance. It was the first black owned insurance company in the state and the largest in the country, servicing African Americans in not only North Carolina, but later states throughout the south.

We learn this by listening to the oral history of William (Bill) Alexander Clement [William Clement interview recording, 1993 May 28 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository]. While Clement was born in South Carolina, his father, Arthur was a North Carolina native. And after Arthur graduated from Johnson C. Smith in 1905, he began working for NC Mutual, establishing an office in Charleston. While in college, Bill knew that he wanted to go into business, and as soon as he graduated, he began working at NC Mutual. He was invited by the agency director to come to Durham and after training for six weeks, he was sent to Memphis to start working for $12.50 a week.

Part 1 31:02 “Things were pretty rough. But $12.50 a week was more than what the teachers were getting. The teachers in South Carolina and Tennessee and mostly Georgia were earning about $37.50 a month. $37.50 a month. And to ger $12.50 a week, that was the equivalent of almost $50 a month.”

NC Mutual was the only job that Clement held in his entire life. Working in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, Clement would get to know CC Spaulding, Ed Merrick (the son of John Merrick) and Mr. John Hervey Wheeler. He would serve as the region supervisor, assisting director and agency director before named executive vice president in 1975 and retiring in 1978.

Ernestine Bynum [Ernestine Bynum interview recording, 1993 May 27 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository] was born and raised in Durham. Bynum was the granddaughter of a business owner. The Hargrett Funeral Service [Who We Are | Hargett Funeral Service, Inc. of Greensboro (hargettfuneralserviceinc.com)] was created by Joseph C. Hargett in Kinston, NC in 1871. He was one of the first black businessmen in the area. Her father would follow in his father-in laws footsteps creating one of the oldest funeral homes still servicing in Durham today, the Scarborough and Hargett Funeral Home [History & Staff | Scarborough & Hargett Celebration of Life Center, Inc – Durham, NC (scarboroughhargettcelebration.com)].

Bynum’s interview is filled with Durham’s black business history as she details businesses and their locations. And because of where she lived and her parent’s involvement within the community, she grew up knowing some of the most influential leaders of Black Wall Street like “Triumvirate”, because “Most of them lived right up Fayetteville Street.”

Part 1 11:36 “As I said, the library was on the corner of Pedigree Street and Fayetteville Street across from it was Mr. John Merrick’s house. Then you had another house next to that, then was the street where White Rock Baptist Church set on the corner. That was on the right-hand side of the street coming down on the other side of the street. Dr. Moore’s home. And then you had businesses, drug store, Pearson’s Drug Store. Ed Green’s grocery store…Then there was cafeteria. Then on the corner was St. Joseph’s Church and next to St. Joseph’s church was the parsonage. Next to that was WG Pearson…FK Watkins, who was your first Black movie house. And coming down on this side of the street from up there, [indistinct 00:15:52] library. Then there were homes until you got those section you called—That’s what’s what you call Haiti. When they talk about Hayti. And that in there was where you had a theater on this side the street, the Southern Fidelity started on that side the street and coming.”

Along with the history of Durham’s Black Wall Street, listeners also learn about Bynum’s strong opinions about working at the funeral home. She states multiple times that she did not want to have a career in funeral services, regardless of her family legacy. But her loyalty to her father was stronger and she became the first Black women embalmer in the state and the first women president for the Funeral Directors & Morticians Association of North Carolina. She would also end up working at North Carolina Mutual and then at the Merrick Moore School and Lincoln Hospital.

These two oral histories are just a tip of the iceberg. Within the collection you can also learn about Nathaniel White [Nathaniel White interview recording, 1995 February 17 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository}, printing service owner whose business also sat on Parrish Street, Alexander Rivera [Alexander Rivera interview recording, 1995 June 02 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository ] a journalist approached by Dr. James E. Shepard to start and organize a news bureau at North Carolina College (later North Carolina Central) because his father was his dentist, and many others. With fifty oral histories categorized under the Durham location tag and over one hundred within North Carolina, who knows the stories that one may find that mention Durham’s Black Wall Street!

We hope you’ve enjoyed “Digging Through the Tapes: Welcome Back to Durham” and that you continue to take the time to learn more about the history and legacy of the city you can call home!