Freedom Libraries

This book delves into how Freedom Libraries were at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, and the remarkable courage of the people who used them. As the Civil Rights Movement exploded across the United States, numerous libraries were desegregated on paper only, and there was another virtually unheard of struggle— the right to read.

Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African-Americans in the South.

As the Civil Rights Movement exploded across the United States, the media of the time was able to show the rest of the world images of horrific racial violence. And while some of the bravest people of the 20^th century risked their lives for the right to simply order a cheeseburger, ride a bus, or use a clean water fountain, there was another virtually unheard of struggle—this one for the right to read. Although illegal, racial segregation was strictly enforced in a number of American states, and public libraries were not immune. Numerous libraries were desegregated on paper only: there would be no cards given to African-Americans, no books for them read, and no furniture for them to use.

It was these exact conditions that helped create Freedom Libraries. Over eighty of these parallel libraries appeared in the Deep South, staffed by civil rights voter registration workers. While the grassroots nature of the libraries meant they varied in size and quality, all of them created the first encounter many African-Americans had with a library. Terror, bombings, and eventually murder would be visited on the Freedom Libraries—with people giving up their lives so others could read a library book.

This book delves into how these libraries were the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, and the remarkable courage of the people who used them. They would forever change libraries and librarianship, even as they helped the greater movement change the society these libraries belonged to. Photographs of the libraries bring this little-known part of American history to life.

Winner of CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2020 2020

Highly Recommended . . . This book by Selby, a professional librarian, clearly bears the marks of a passionate personal project, and the author greatly enriches this little-known chapter in the history of the freedom struggle. The text is full of personal stories and testimonies, many of which will be fairly unknown even to scholars in the field. If there’s ever a book that all libraries ought to have, it’s this book about grassroots libraries organized for people who hungered for the knowledge that would lead to freedom.”

Choice Reviews
Librarian Selby documents the history of Freedom Libraries, the unofficial public libraries that grew out of the Civil Rights movement. For the most part, these were set up in whatever space was available and managed by whichever volunteer was willing to take on the task. The books were donated and often totally unsuitable, so these volunteers had to sift through them to create an appropriate collection. The spaces were used for meetings and teaching spaces as well, and became an integral part of the Freedom Rider movement. The chapter on the Philadelphia Freedom Library shows that the north was not exempt from the failure to meet the needs of all of its Black citizens. This is a well-researched and documented history of an important aspect of the Civil Rights Movement. It should find a place in most collections. Booklist

The myriad stories contained in this book are amazing from the story of the 10-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr., who was fortunate enough to have a library card of his own. Unfortunately, the librarian refused to allow the young man to borrow two books on Mahatma Gandhi . . . I have vivid memories of visiting the Public Library in Philadelphia when I was somewhere around six years old. Not having that privilege never crossed my mind until I read this book. This is something I have taken for granted my whole life. Mike Selby’s Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African Americans in the South is an incredible story. 5 stars.

"Likely Stories," Waco Public Radio

. . . Selby’s book is evocative of the simultaneously oppressive and hopeful atmosphere of Freedom Summer, and does an excellent job capturing the voices of participants in the Freedom Libraries movement . . . While modest in ambition, this work adds to our understanding of the local nature of Freedom Libraries and belongs in larger academic libraries and public libraries with a large readership for works on the civil rights movement.

Libraries: Culture, History, and Society
Freedom Libraries tells the story of the powerful cultural/political thrust of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1960’s. Black folks had been segregated out of public libraries for years. Civil Rights Movement folks installed libraries, called for book donations which came in from all over the country. It was wonderful to see children holding & reading those books!! I was there and this book tells the story. -- Denise Nicholas, critically acclaimed author of Freshwater Road, award winning actress, civil rights activist, public speaker
In 1939 five African American men were arrested for reading silently in a Virginia public library. As Mike Selby convincingly shows, the story of American libraries encapsulates the heart of the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle for American democracy more broadly. Selby deftly marshals an array of sources to document the stories of the enterprising and brave Americans who insisted on library access during the terror and disparities of Jim Crow. The local African American communities who collaborated with black and white civil rights workers to build Freedom Libraries, despite the violent retributions of white authorities and communities, were often risking their lives to access books which were themselves propaganda to justify the regime of racial oppression. These never before compiled, finely detailed accounts shed further light on the profound malevolence of white supremacy - in word and deed - a disturbing part of our shared history that must be recognized, as well as chronicle the astonishing courage of those who challenged it that must be remembered. -- Christina Proenza-Coles, author of American Founders

Born and raised in the shadow of the British Columbia Rocky Mountains, Mike Selby is a professional librarian. He received his MLIS from the University of Alabama, which is where he first unearthed the story of the Freedom Libraries. He is also a newspaper columnist, having published over 900 articles about libraries, reading, and print culture—much of it covering libraries during the Civil Rights Movement. He has also had two peer-reviewed academic pieces published, both on this topic.

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