Chicago Public Library, Filling in the Gaps: Black Women and the Rewriting of History

This discussion will focus on the lives and legacies of librarian Vivian G. Harsh and teacher Madeline Morgan (later Madeleine Stratton Morris). Both women addressed historical erasures in public memory and school curriculum using resources at the Hall branch library. Harsh was integral in growing and promoting the Hall library’s Special Negro Collection, which became a popular resource for studying Black history in Chicago. Morgan used this collection and other material to create the first African American history curriculum recognized by Chicago Public Schools. Prof. Chambliss and Prof. Hines will share how they recovered Harsh’s and Morgan’s stories, and they will discuss the continued significance of these women’s work.