The African American Struggle for Library Equality: The Untold Story of the Julius Rosenwald Fund Library Program

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.

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(LIS), Johnson-Jones stands on a soapbox for unveiling the history of underrepresented communities through the use of historical documents.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.