LA Public Library to celebrate the life and legacy of LA’s first Black librarian, Miriam Matthews

This Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Los Angeles Public Library’s Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the building’s opening, as well as the life and legacy of its namesake, Miriam Matthews.

As part of the celebration, the library is putting together a full day of programming to honor Matthews, who was the city’s first Black librarian and a tireless advocate for the arts and against censorship.

About Miriam Matthews’ life

Matthews’ accomplishments run the gamut from advocating for Negro History Week in the city — the precursor to Black History Month — to helping publicly recognize the Black and Indigenous heritage of the pobladores who founded L.A.

When confronted with obstacles, Matthews found a way to advocate for herself after she’d been misled or skipped over for opportunities, including the opportunity to apply for a librarianship at LAPL. In interviews, Matthews always attributed this steadfastness to her parents, who moved to L.A. when she was a toddler to get away from the segregation of the Jim Crow South.

Miriam Matthews

(

Courtesy Schlesinger Library, RIAS, Harvard University

)

“Even though I wasn’t what I’d call a brash, forward-type person, I always quietly said my piece when I thought something was not right,” Matthews, who died in 2003, said.

She became the city’s first Black librarian in 1927 — and remained the only Black librarian for about two decades. Matthews was a favorite of the patrons across all demographic lines. She quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the regional librarian for LAPL’s South Central region.

Matthews also set out to document the history of L.A's Black residents, both from her time and before. Her papers, photographs and personal research, which are now hosted at UCLA, were central in determining that many of L.A.’s original founders were of Afro-Mexican.

They also include photos of other historical locations like Bruce’s Beach, which in 2022 was returned to the Black family who'd owned it when it was taken away through public domain nearly 100 years earlier.

Two African American couples standing on a walkway at Bruce's Beach, Manhattan Beach, circa 1920.

(

Miriam Matthews Photograph Collections, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA

)

Matthews was also appointed to the city’s committee for Los Angeles’ bicentennial by Mayor Tom Bradley. She became a main force behind the design of a monument honoring L.A.’s founders, which listed the racial heritage of the city’s founding families, more than half of which had African ancestry.

An advocate for intellectual freedom

Her advocacy extended to intellectual freedom: She argued against censorship in the city’s library system and for “the right to read and to read everything,” even controversial texts. She successfully helped to dispel a library censorship board when she was librarian.

That commitment extended as far as advocating against McCarthyism and advocating for Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf to stay on the library’s bookshelves.

“When pressed to explain why she would fight to keep a book like that on the shelf, she said, ‘Because we have to know how our enemies think,’” said Yago Cura, a librarian at the Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch. “How can you argue with that?”

Despite not being an artist by training, she also took an interest in visual art, especially the creations of Black artists. Pieces from her collection, which she humbly described as “just things I would enjoy having,” were shown at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Long Beach Art Museum, The California African American Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Honoring Matthews’ legacy

Miriam Matthews stands to the right of the Founders Plaque in 1982.

(

El Pueblo Monument Photo Collection

/

Courtesy L.A. Public Library

)

For Cura, who is helping to organize the day’s events, the anniversary celebration is a chance to highlight Matthews’ many contributions to the civic life of Los Angeles.

“I'm not Mexican, but I understand how important Guadalupe is to Mexicans,” Cura said. “She's kind of like my Guadalupe. She's kind of like my saint that keeps me grounded in the work that I'm supposed to do as a community minded librarian.”

In keeping with Matthews’ commitment to local arts and literature, the programming will include workshops and programming for all ages. It’ll also feature a poetry reading called Miriam’s Garden, which is right up against Florence Avenue.

“We’re not exposed, but it’s a chain link fence – there's really nothing that separates us from the community,” Cura said. “We're communing with each other, we're listening to people talk about their experiences as people of color.”

The celebration will also feature a workshop with the gardener who maintains the branch’s garden.

“I've even made little magazines, zines that talk about her legacy that we're going to be passing out,” Cura said. “We're gonna be giving out totes and all that good stuff.”

How to participate

Location: 2205 W. Florence Ave, Los Angeles
Phone: 323-750-7241

The library’s celebration will last throughout the day on Wednesday, Dec. 11:

• Special Dedication Ceremony @ 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Harvesting Hope with Master Gardener Bobi Lott @ 12:30 – 1:30 PM
• Miriam’s Garden: Poetry Reading Series with special guests and local poets Nikolai Garcia, Jesenia Chavez, and Peter Woods @ 1:30 – 2:30 PM
• Inside Out: Self-Portraits - Children’s Art Program @ 4:00 PM