African American Struggle for Library Equality - by Aisha M Johnson-Jones (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The African American Struggle for Library Equality: The Untold Story of the Julius Rosenwald Fund Library Program unveils the almost forgotten philanthropic efforts of Julius Rosenwald, former president of Sears, Roebuck, Co. and an elite business man. Rosenwald simply desired to improve, "the well-being of mankind" through access to education.

Many people are familiar with Mr. Rosenwald as the founder of the Julius Rosenwald Fund that established more than 5,300 rural schools in 15 Southern states during the period 1917-1938. However, there is another major piece of the puzzle, the Julius Rosenwald Fund Library Program. That program established more than 10,000 school, college, and public libraries, funded library science programs that trained African American librarians, and made evident the need for libraries to be supported by local governments.

The African American Struggle for Library Equality is the first comprehensive history of the Julius Rosenwald Fund Library Program to be published. The book reveals a new understanding of library practices of the early 20th century. Through original research and use of existing literature, Aisha Johnson Jones exposes historic library practices that discriminated against blacks, and the necessary remedies the Julius Rosenwald Fund Library Program implemented to cure this injustice, which ultimately influenced other philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates (the Gates Foundation has a library program) as well as organizations like the American Library Association.

Review Quotes

"Dr. Aisha M. Johnson-Jones. . . brilliantly explores the roots of the Rosenwald Fund, from its initial focus on funding education and school construction to its expansion into library services and librarian education for African Americans. . . . Although other books have been written about the Rosenwald Fund, they do not go into deep discussion and detail about the fund's work with librar-ies as Johnson-Jones's book does. . . . Readers of African American history and/or library history will appreciate the inspirational story of the work of Julius Rosenwald unveiled in this vol-ume. The African American Struggle for Library Equality: The Untold Story of the Julius Rosenwald Fund Library Program may serve as a means of inspiring others to uncover and bring to light more hidden and untold stories in the history of African Americans and libraries." --Libraries: Culture, History, and Society

"Aisha Johnson-Jones's account of the Rosenwald Fund's library programs is essential to our understanding of social justice philanthropist Julius Rosenwald and his foundation. Just as importantly, Johnson-Jones reveals the transformative power of libraries and library practice for users denied equal access to knowledge." --Mary S. Hoffschwelle, author of The Rosenwald Schools of the American South

"The creation of libraries and related contributions to literacy in the segregated South are little-known but highly significant aspects of the remarkable philanthropy of the Julius Rosenwald Fund." --Stephanie Deutsch, author, You Need a Schoolhouse, Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South, Northwestern University Press, 2011.

"A timely study that recounts the work of philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish American and human rights activist who felt the pain of African Americans in the rural South and their struggle for literacy. This account takes us through the Rosenwald Fund Library Program, its support of social justice, and its successful efforts to raise the literacy level of black youth through libraries that Rosenwald established in many of the 5,300 rural schools and buildings that he built in 15 Southern states." --Jessie Carney Smith, Dean of the Library, Camille Cosby Distinguished Chair in the Humanities, Fisk University

About the Author

Dr. Aisha Johnson-Jones is an educator and revelator of Southern intellectual history, and an advocate for untold stories. She is committed to archival research, the production and professional development of archivists and staff, and redefining the scholar.

With a Ph.D. and Master's in Library and Information Studies (LIS), Johnson-Jones stands on a soapbox for unveiling the history of underrepresented communities through the use of historical documents. She has focused much of her research on the development of literacy in the African-American community, and those philanthropic efforts to develop public libraries in the South. Her advocacy for the archives is not only conveyed in her research, but also her professional career.

She entered the LIS field thirteen years ago, and has become experienced in archives management, curriculum development, instruction as well as program evaluation. With such a dedication to the field, Dr. Johnson-Jones encourages redefining the scholar. As a manager, she promoted her Breeding Scholars Initiative that introduces high school and college students to archival research and places the focus on synthesis.