The Development of Southern Public Libraries and the African American Quest for Library Access, 1898-1963
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“SEEKERS OF KNOWLEDGE”: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHERN PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN QUEST FOR LIBRARY ACCESS, 1898-1963 by Dallas Hanbury A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public History Middle Tennessee State University August 2016 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Rebecca Conard-Chair Dr. Kelly Kolar Dr. Elizabeth Dow Dr. James Beeby For My wife. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people that supported me while I wrote this dissertation. First and foremost I must thank my dissertation committee, including its Chair, Dr. Rebecca Conard. She carefully and patiently guided me through the steps necessary to complete this dissertation. In particular, she taught me to look beyond the obvious and dig deeper when examining sources and narratives. This dissertation is much stronger for that. The other members of my committee, Dr. Kelly Kolar, Dr. Elizabeth Dow, and Dr. James Beeby, all spent many hours reading and commenting on this text, subsequently providing suggestions and advice that greatly enriched the story I tell in the following pages. I also cannot express enough thanks to all my committee members for spending a great deal of time helping me edit my dissertation. Although writing requires discipline and adhering to a schedule, it also involves a great deal of fun and creativity. Editing has a certain appeal as well, but in my opinion, also involves more “work” than laying down the initial rough draft. My committee helped shoulder that work, thereby making the editing of this dissertation much easier, and perhaps even enjoyable. I must also thank the many archivists and librarians who helped me find sources, suggested collections I had not thought of, and made the research process of this dissertation highly enjoyable. In particular, I extend thanks to the Nashville Metro Archives staff, including its director Ken Feith, and archivist Sarah Arntz, for helping me locate and access records created by and about the Nashville Public Library. These records provided most of the material for the Nashville Public Library (NPL) case study. However, the NPL also provided a significant amount of source material for this dissertation. In particular, the NPL Special Collections Division’s vertical and subject files on Nashville schools, churches, organizations, and iii individuals deeply enriched the NPL case study. Furthermore, NPL Special Collections staff member Megan Adovasio-Jones suggested a master’s thesis that wonderfully documented the events leading up the NPL’s integration, particularly when and how it integrated. I also must thank staff at the Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan government for allowing me to peruse through record book upon record book of city ordinances. I am also grateful for the assistance provided by Atlanta Public Library (APL) Special Collections staff member John Wright and director Kelly Cornwall. For days, both helped me go through Special Collections’ records and materials created by and about the APL. They also suggested other materials and institutions to consider as I researched my APL case study. Staff at the Atlanta History Center and the Robert Woodruff Library also provided their time and expertise by helping me locate various sources and collections that provided additional insight as I wrote the chapter on the APL. While researching the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) case study, Jim Baggett and the staff at the Birmingham Public Library Department of Archives and Manuscripts provided an immense amount of help. They suggested collection after collection to research, as well as made available to me their own deep knowledge about the history of the BPL. Furthermore, Jim Baggett’s impressive understanding of the history of Birmingham also enriched this dissertation. A Bart McCash Memorial Scholarship awarded by the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) History Department Scholarship Committee in spring 2015 made possible much of this dissertation’s research. I remain very grateful for the department’s financial support. iv Finally, I must thank my wife. While graduate school in general, and writing a dissertation in particular, has its rewards, it also involves sacrifice, and not just by the person in the degree program and writing the dissertation. The friends, family, and spouses of graduate students may not sit in the classes or write the papers, or labor over a dissertation, but they are there every step of the way. I cannot thank my wife enough for her patience, sacrifice, and dedication. She made the completion of this dissertation and Ph.D. possible. v ABSTRACT This dissertation argues that public libraries played an integral role in southern cities’ economic and cultural boosterism efforts during the New South and Progressive Eras. In particular, they acted as tangible evidence the South had recovered from the Civil War’s destruction. However, southern public libraries also helped institutionalize segregation during the early decades of the twentieth century. They did so by refusing to serve African Americans, or only to a limited degree. Yet, the Progressive Era’s emphasis on self-improvement and moral uplift influenced southern public libraries to the extent that not all embraced total segregation. It even caused southern public libraries to remain open to the idea of slowly expanding library service to African Americans. Later, libraries’ social mission and imperfect commitment to segregation made them prime targets for breaking down the barriers of segregation in the post- World War II era. This dissertation concludes that dealing with the complicated and unexpected outcomes of having practiced segregation remains a difficult and ongoing process for southern public libraries. Three case studies focusing on the Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville Public libraries (APL, BPL, and NPL) are used to examine the history of southern public libraries’ development, their role in institutionalizing segregation, the complex and protracted efforts to integrate these institutions, and the ongoing attempts to deal with the consequences of having practiced segregation. These three library systems were selected as case studies because the historical periods framing this dissertation: the Progressive Era, the New South Era, and the Civil Rights Movement, greatly influenced Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville’s development, which by extension significantly shaped the APL, BPL, and NPL’s institutional histories. Furthermore, due to each system’s unique development, for instance the APL started the first library school in the vi South, studying how the APL, BPL, and NPL developed, practiced segregation, eventually integrated, and dealt with the consequences of having practiced segregation is important to more fully understanding how the history of southern public libraries fits into the broader narrative of race and politics in the American South. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………………...x LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………………xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………………...xii INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTER I: RECONSTRUCTION, REDEMPTION, AND REBIRTH: SOUTHERN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEW SOUTH ERA……………….……………12 The New South: Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham…………………………………..16 Southern Expositions: Fulfilling the New South Vision………………………………...22 Southern Progressivism, Philanthropy, and Southern Public Libraries…………………24 CHAPTER II: A NEW VISION, A NEW SOUTH: SOUTHERN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT, 1890-1950…………………………………………………………………...30 Andrew Carnegie and National Library Development………………………………..…30 Public Libraries and Progressive Reform………………………………………………..33 Society, Gender, and Public Libraries…………………………………………………...35 Public Libraries: Immigration, Culture, Economic Achievement, and Social Control….36 Southern Public Library Development…………………………………………………..43 CHAPTER III: “LIBRARY USERS ARE SEEKERS OF KNOWLEDGE”: DEVELOPING AFRICAN AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE AND EDUCATING BLACK LIBRARIANS…………………………………………………………………………...............59 African American Library Development, 1900-1941. …………………………………..60 Philanthropy and African-American Library Development.…………………………….64 The Development of African-American Library Education in the South ………………67 The South’s Public Libraries Integrate…………………………………………………..71 CHAPTER IV: “IT IS SIMPLY OUT OF THE QUESTION TO ELIMINATE THE COLORLINE”: THE DEVELOPMENT OF BLACK LIBRARY SERVICE IN ATLANTA AND THE INTEGRATION OF THE ATLANTA PUBLIC LIBRARY……………………….82 Beginnings……………………………………………………………………………….85 System Growth and the Development of Black Library Service in Atlanta…………....90 viii The APL and Community Engagement: Library Service to Atlanta African Americans Expands………………………………………………………………………………......98 Integrating Library Patrons……………………………………………………………..100 Integrating Library Staff………………………………………………………………..109 CHAPTER V: “THE LIBRARY CANNOT BE OPENED INDISCRIMINATELY TO WHITE PEOPLE AND NEGROES”: NASHVILLE AND THE QUEST FOR INTEGRATED LIBRARY SERVICE………………………………………………………………………......118 Beginnings……………………………………………………………………………...121 System Growth and the Development of African-American Library Service in Nashville………………………………………………………………………………..131 Integration and Other Changes…………………………………………………………138 CHAPTER VI: “THIS WE BELIEVE”: LOCAL BLACK ACTIVISM, THE NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND THE INTEGRATION OF THE BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY………………………………………………………………………………………152