Who is Jean Blackwell Hutson
The Research and Reference Division was named in honor of Jean Blackwell Hutson on May 17, 2007 at the unveiling of the newly renovated Schomburg Center. Jean Blackwell Hutson served as the Chief Librarian at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture from 1948 until her retirement in 1981. Ms. Hutson was born in Sommerfield, Florida in 1914 and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1935 she graduated with a degree in English from Barnard College. Ms. Hutson desired to pursue a career in librarianship and applied to Enoch Pratt Library Training School, but was denied entrance due to her race, later winning a discrimination lawsuit against the school. She received her degree in Library Science from Columbia University in 1936 and in 1941 received a teaching degree from Columbia as well.
She was hired by the New York Public Library in 1936. As the Chief Librarian at the Schomburg Center, she developed the Schomburg Dictionary Catalog and significantly grew the Library's collection. During her time in New York Ms. Hutson developed close friendships with well-known writers, scholars, and artists, such as Langston Hughes and Richard Wright - both with collections at the Schomburg Center.
Jean Blackwell Hutson held many other achievements beyond her work at the Schomburg Center. She taught courses at the City College of New York, helped to created the Africana Collection at the University of Ghana, and was involved in such organizations as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and served on the Task Force on Library and Information Services to Cultural Minorities of the National Commission on Libraries.
Learn More about Jean Blackwell Hutson
- Jean Blackwell Hutson: Black Women’s Leadership in Librarianship and Archives by Kellee E. Warren
- Jean Blackwell Hutson (1914-1998): Culture Keeper Extraordinaire from Little Known Black Librarian Facts
- Jean Blackwell Hutson papers 1902-1998
- Jean Blackwell Hutson portrait collection
Jean Blackwell Hutson photographed by Brian Lanker, 1989. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Schneider/Erdman Printer's Proof Collection, partial gift, and partial purchase through the Margaret Fisher Fund