Jean Blackwell Hutson

Jean Blackwell Hutson

Jean Blackwell Hutson, circa 1934
Born Jean Blackwell
(1914-09-07)September 7, 1914
Summerfield, Florida, United States
Died February 4, 1998(1998-02-04) (aged 83)
Harlem Hospital, New York
Nationality American
Alma mater Barnard,
Columbia University School of Library Science
Occupation Librarian, curator, writer, archivist
Spouse(s) Andy Razaf (1939–1947)
John Hutson (1950-1998)
Children Jean Francis (d. 1992)
Parent(s) Paul O. Blackwell (farmer)
Sarah Myers Blackwell (elementary schoolteacher)

Jean Blackwell Hutson (born Jean Blackwell; September 7, 1914 – February 4, 1998[1]) was an African-American librarian, archivist, writer, and curator and later chief of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture where she helped to upgrade the library to the standard where it is now.[2]

Early life and education

Jean Blackwell Hutson was born in Sommerfield, Florida, the daughter of Paul O. Blackwell, a farmer, and Sarah Myers Blackwell, an elementary school teacher. [3] Hutson and her mother relocated to Baltimore and her father, who remained in Florida, would travel to Baltimore to visit the family. [4]It was during her time in Baltimore that Hutson forged a friendship with a young Langston Hughes. She graduated, the valedictorian of her class, at the age of 15, from Douglass High School in Baltimore.[5] One of her teachers at Douglass High School was W.E.B. DuBois' daughter, Yolande DuBois. [6]She originally enrolled at the University of Michigan but transferred to Barnard College and graduated with her BA in 1935. [7] She received her master's degree from the Columbia University University School of Library Service in 1936.[8]

Career

Hutson worked as a librarian at a high school in Baltimore, where she took initiative to bring Spanish-language literature to the school so Spanish-speaking students had greater access to the library,[9] as well as at several branches of the New York Public Library before being appointed, in 1948, as the acting curator of the Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints at the 135th Street/Countee Cullen branch of the New York Public Library, in Harlem.[10] During her tenure as curator and then chief of the Schomburg Collection for Research in Black Culture, from 1948 to 1980, Hutson oversaw the growth of the collection's holdings and fought to secure funds to move the collection from its inadequate building at 103 West 135th Street to a new building, which opened in 1981.[11][12]

At the request of President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Hutson also aided in the creation of the University of Ghana's Africana collection.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Wedin, Carolyn. "Hutson, Jean Blackwell". Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Bolden, T, (2012). ", African-American writers: A dictionary".
  3. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (1998-02-07). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  4. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (1998-02-07). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  5. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (February 7, 1998). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (1998-02-07). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  7. ↑ Wedin, Carolyn. "Hutson, Jean Blackwell". Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (February 7, 1998). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Hine, Darlene Clark; Brown, Elsa Barkley; Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn (1993). Black Women in America. Indiana University: Carlson Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-253-32774-1.
  10. ↑ "Hutson, Jean". Encyclopedia of African-American Writing. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  11. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (February 7, 1998). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". Jet. February 23, 1998. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (February 7, 1998). "Jean Hutson, Schomburg Chief, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 6, 2016.


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