Stories Told But Yet Unfinished

Abstract

Summary Practices of discrimination based on race forced the creation of “separate and unequal” colleges and universities with similarly separate and unequal libraries. Even the Morrill Land Grant Acts of 1860 and 1890, which were not intended to discriminate based on race, did in fact discriminate, leading to the creation of separate and unequal land-grant institutions. It was Brown vs. Board of Education that challenged successfully this “separate and unequal” custom and prompted the first major change in the composition of dominant institutions. By that time, however, many of the predominantly African-American institutions, although weak in library resources as a whole, had established outstanding collections on the history, literature, and art of persons of African descent. This article examines the historical context of these issues, and makes clear that, despite inadequate resources, many of these libraries had created significant collections for education, research, and services. But there is Still much work to be done.