While there are many notable black female librarians, Virginia Proctor Powell Florence was the very first to receive professional training in library science, earning a degree. She was also only the second black American to do this. She was also a noted educator. Her life is one of an endless series of honours, but just how did she manage to become one of the most important leaders of the 20th century? This is the story of how one librarian did something no one had ever done before…
The Shattered Dream Of Teaching and a Second Chance in an Unexpected Place
Virginia Florence was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, on October 1st, 1897. She received her early education in local public schools, but when tragedy struck and she lost her parents, she had to move to Pittsburgh to live with her aunt.
Later, she followed in her mother’s footsteps and continued her education at Oberlin College in Ohio, where, in 1919, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature. From there, she decided to head out into the world of work, but that was far easier said than done…
She moved back to Pittsburgh where she wanted to pursue teaching but she found this difficult, despite having adequate training and experience. She had a passion for working with children and had participated in community groups at Oberlin. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh school system was not ready for black teachers to impress knowledge on white students and therefore, they refused to accept her as a teacher. To her utter dismay, Virginia could not find work as a teacher as she had always dreamt of.
Instead, she veered wildly to the left and spent some time working at her aunt’s salon as a beautician. But Virginia, like so many, was not happy. She enjoyed her work but spent many days gazing out of the window wondering what life she was missing out on.
Aware of her passion for children and books, a man she knew named Charles Wilbur Florence (and future husband), suggested to Virginia that she might be able to spend her life as a librarian. He did not want Virginia to lose sight of her goals. He was Virginia’s biggest advocate. Charles deemed her passion for the written word, her academic success, her determination and her love for children to be the perfect combination for work as a librarian. He believed in Virginia, but this would not be easy.
With Charles in her corner, Virginia applied to the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library School and she believed it was a long shot. This was an age in which black people were rarely considered for admission into predominantly white universities such as the Carnegie Library School. But she had to try, right?
Her application was met with fierce debate. Many people did not want a black student. Others feared how the white students would react. But most importantly of all, would they put those fears to one side and give Virginia a chance?
The Successes of the First Lady and the Triumphant Life She Lived
There was much debate. Should we allow a black person into the program? The main concern for the school’s officials was how the white students would react and whether or not it was even worth their time as who would employ a black, female librarian? We spend all this time training her up and for what? Who will hire her?
As utterly depressing as that thought is, Virginia did have her supporters. No library in Pittsburgh had ever hired a black person. Virginia would be more than qualified but would a library hire her? For a few of the school’s officials, this was just about the most ridiculous question imaginable. They urged the school to admit Virginia.
And in 1922, they did just that.
She completed her studies within one year, making her the first black woman in America to earn a degree in library science. Sadly, she encountered discrimination. She wasn’t allowed to interact directly with white patrons, for example. Unfortunately, upon completion, the school officials were unsure about where to place Virginia, so she didn’t receive her diploma until several years later. It needn’t matter for her, though. She immediately started applying for jobs as a librarian and in 1923, she began her new career. Where, you ask? This most ‘unemployable’ of people?
Ah, that’s right. She got her first job in the New York Public Library. And she stayed there for four years. Virginia left the New York Public Library in 1927. Throughout her life, she always applied for jobs in places she thought would be friendly to black people, which is understandable if incredibly tragic. In 1927, she achieved yet another first: the first black person to take and pass the New York high school librarian’s examination.
After completing the test, she was appointed librarian at Seward Park High School in Brooklyn. So she did end up in a school. In 1931, she married Charles and moved to Jefferson. The couple were quite renowned. Virginia’s list of firsts was rather long but so was Charles’. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and spent two years at Harvard. While in Boston, he was selected to become the president of Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson. Virginia took eight years away from her work as a librarian to be, and this was her official title, ‘First Lady of Lincoln University’.
Well, she could hardly be a librarian AND a wife, right? Many people adored Virginia. She was softly-spoken and kind, as well as fiercely intelligent and stylish. She was also rather fond of social teas and reading clubs.
I mean, she sounds like a delight…
The Struggle to Find Work and the Last Moments of a Life Well-Lived
The couple moved back east in 1938 where Florence resumed her career. Here, Charles became chairperson of the English department at Virginia Union University in Richmond. Sadly, Virginia could not find work in Richmond so she moved to Washington, away from her husband, to find work.
The move allowed Virginia to return to her life as a librarian where she worked at Cordoza High School until 1945. But due to health complications, Virginia stopped working in Washington and returned to Richmond. Here, her health improved greatly and once more, she returned to life as a librarian.
She finally found work in Richmond at the Maggie L. Walker Senior High School until 1965 when she retired. Although retired, Virginia and Charles remained passionate about social issues, the love of the written word and, of course, each other until Charles died in 1974. Virginia spent her final years living alone but surrounded by her family and friends.
It’s remarkable to think that this pioneer died as recently as 1991 at the age of 93.
Epilogue
In 1981, Virginia Proctor Powell Florence was honoured by the University of Pittsburgh with a special award for Outstanding Professional Service. In 2004, they posthumously honoured her with a plaque in the lobby of the Information Sciences Building. Even more remarkably, The American Library Association honoured Virginia in their list of the ‘100 Most Important Leaders [we had in the] 20th Century’.
Virginia was a librarian, that’s all she wanted to be. But for a time, she didn’t even know if she would be allowed. She broke barriers but also faced discrimination in a time when simply being a black librarian was so rare that no woman had ever managed it. Her degree in library science was a first for a black woman, but she wanted to be remembered for her character and her actions, not for the endless list of honours she received.
She became one of the most important leaders of the 20th century not because of her firsts but by becoming a role model who stayed true to herself and her values. She is more than a librarian. She is inspirational because she set her heart on something and she did it.
That may not sound remarkable to you, but in her age, it was a monumental victory.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Proctor_Powell_Florence
Post Sources
https://blackthen.com/virginia-proctor-powell-florence-first-black-woman-receive-professional-training-library-science-u-s/, https://aaregistry.org/story/florence-powell-loved-kids-and-books/, https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2020/12/03/virginia-proctor-powell-florence-her-degree-library/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Proctor_Powell_Florence
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