The 21st-Century Black Librarian in America by Andrew P. Jackson & Julius C. Jefferson & Akilah S. Nosakhere

Author:Andrew P. Jackson & Julius C. Jefferson & Akilah S. Nosakhere [Jackson, Andrew P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780810882461
Publisher: Scarecrow Press

WHERE WE CAME FROM

SCL was established in 1963 by members of the progressive, white community in Los Angeles who worked together politically and socially for decades, long before SCL was officially in existence. They founded SCL with a sense of urgency. In the aftermath of the McCarthy era, people were throwing out books and other materials in fear of government reprisals. SCL's founding director, Emil Freed, urged people to bring the materials to him so these histories wouldn't be lost. He and those working with him stored the materials in their own homes and garages, risking their reputations, livelihoods, even their freedom, because they believed that these materials and stories could change the world. Because SCL's founders were themselves activists, they knew and worked with a cross-section of others who were working for change. This is how SCL acquired rare collections like the papers of Charlotta Bass, an early civil rights activist, publisher of the California Eagle (one of the longest running black newspapers in the west), and a candidate for vice president of the United States in 1952.

However, it was hard to know at the time all the rare materials SCL housed. Photos from that period show a building with floor-to-ceiling boxes and file cabinets. It was mostly visited, and supported financially, by fellow travelers.

After the founder's death in the early 1980s, SCL entered a second era, with a more professionalized core staff who had backgrounds in history and librarian-ship and who, as middle-aged white women, reflected a demographic prevalent among librarians. As they brought greater organization to the collections, SCL began to acquire a reputation nationally and even internationally, especially in academic circles, as one of the most in-depth archives of Los Angeles' history of community change.

During these years, SCL's materials were primarily used by faculty and students from institutions of higher education, as well as by filmmakers and artists, who drew on its collections to produce hundreds of books, articles, films, and dissertations on Los Angeles's history, including the book City of Quartz by Mike Davis, the PBS documentary Black Press: Soldiers without Swords, and the play Chavez Ravine, by Culture Clash. SCL also initiated programming that put it on the map, such as a major panel on the Black Panther Party, mentioned in Newsweek; a conference exhibit on the 1965 Watts Rebellion; and a talk by Howard Zinn, author of the People's History of the United States.

By the early 2000s, SCL had a long history of accomplishment—but it was also at a crossroads. The second director was retiring, and most of the previous staff went with her. Always cash-strapped, SCL was out of money, low on staff, and, despite its years, weak in organizational infrastructure.

At this point, in November 2004—the day after George Bush reclaimed the White House—SCL gained its third director, Yusef Omowale, and entered into its next era.

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