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• 1 2020-07-22T20:42:27+00:00 Virginia Proctor Powell Florence 5 plain 2020-07-29T20:09:53+00:00 Virginia Proctor Powell Florence (1903-1991, OC 1919) was the first African American woman to graduate from a professional library program in the United States. Florence graduated from Oberlin College in 1919 with a A.B. in English. After graduating she moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to begin her teaching career in the local public-school system. However, she faced discrimination because of her race and could not secure a job in her chosen field. Charles Wilbur Florence, who later became her husband, encouraged her to train as a librarian. Florence enrolled at the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library School in 1922. She was the first African American to be admitted to the library studies program at that college. She graduated in 1923 with a B.L.S. and began her career as a librarian in New York City. Florence later worked as a librarian in Washington, D.C. In 1950 she began work as the librarian for Maggie L. Walker High School, a position she held until her retirement in 1965. Florence was active in the Civil Rights Movement through work with the Richmond Crusade for Voters, her local church, and the Y.M.C.A. The University of Pittsburgh honored Florence in 1981 with the Special Award for Outstanding Professional Service as a result of her career in the library field.
  
  Sources:
  Student File (Virginia Proctor Powell Florence), Alumni & Development Records, O.C.A.
  
  “Virginia Proctor Powell Florence: Remarkable Oberlin Alumna Librarian.” Library Perspectives, Spring 2005. https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=perspectives