Serendipity: Women’s Suffrage and African American History Month

Serendipity is a wonderful word, one I think about a lot in my library research setting. Although librarians use designated subjects heading to help delve into research topics, oftentimes we find ourselves following the unexpected, and off we go on tangential threads. These excursions can lead to surprises, some helpful to our research, others just plain interesting. You learn a lot along the way. That’s what happened when it was time to arrange books for the library’s February display.

First up, books on women’s suffrage. It’s been 100 years since New York State finally granted women the right to vote after decades of struggle. We all know about Susan B Anthony’s role in the movement. Hopefully you have visited her home in Rochester as well as the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in nearby Seneca Falls, New York. If not, add them to your list of must-dos.

But while thumbing through books for the display, I came across names and photos of women not as familiar to me. I was struck by the beautiful photo and inspiring story of Mary Church Terrell, an early African American advocate of both women’s suffrage and civil rights. So serendipity struck and led me to discover others including Ida B. Wells, weaving a beautiful thread to and throughout the African American History Month display in the adjoining large case.

Ida B. Wells

Mary Church Terrell

So next time you’re in the library, please take a look at some of the interesting and relevant books we offer on these subjects, and  pause to learn a little about the many courageous and inspiring women who paved the way for all of us. Serendipity...

--Deborah Janetos, Reference Librarian & College Archivist

Selected Books at Nazareth Library:

Terrell, M. (1996). A colored woman in a white world (African-American women writers, 1910-1940). New York : London: G.K. Hall ; Prentice Hall International.

Lorette Wilmot Library   Nazareth Main Collection   323.092 Ter  

Jones, B. (1990). Quest for equality : The life and writings of Mary Eliza Church Terrell, 1863-1954 (Black women in United States history ; v. 13). Brooklyn, N.Y.: Carlson Pub.

Lorette Wilmot Library   Nazareth Main Collection   973.0496073 Ter, Jon  

Wells-Barnett, I., & Royster, J. (1997). Southern horrors and other writings : The anti-lynching campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900 (Bedford series in history and culture). Boston, MA: Bedford Books.

Lorette Wilmot Library   Nazareth Main Collection   323.092 Wel  

Thompson, M. (1990). Ida B. Wells-Barnett : An exploratory study of an American Black woman, 1893-1930 (Black women in United States history ; v. 15). Brooklyn, N.Y.: Carlson Pub.

Lorette Wilmot Library   Nazareth Main Collection   323.092 Wel, Tho