Service for All

Library "read-in" protestors are arrested on charges of disturbing the peace. Image from the James Wilson Photograph Collection, courtesy of the Upcountry History Museum

Integration of Public Libraries in Greenville County

Prior to September 1960, the Greenville Public Library was segregated. Two libraries were in operation at the time—a “whites only” facility on Main Street, and one designated for service to African Americans on McBee Avenue. In March of 1960, members of Greenville’s African-American community initiated a series of sit-ins whose aim was to raise awareness of, and inspire change to, the inherently unequal “separate but equal” policy of the time.

On March 1, 1960, a group of Sterling High students staged a sit-in at the Main Street library during which they used the library, selecting materials and sitting down to enjoy reading. The head librarian responded by asking them to leave and then closed the building for the day. On March 16, 1960, seven students who later became known as the “Greenville Seven” held a sit-in at the same library location leading to their arrest. Undaunted and inspired, eight students returned on July 16 resulting again in their arrest. The actions of these young people led to the filing of a federal lawsuit on July 28 that would force the integration of Greenville Public Library facilities.

Faced by implacable determination on the part of Greenville’s African-American community, library leaders closed the doors on September 2, 1960. For over two weeks, Greenville was without a public library. In the end, a decision was reached to open the library to all citizens of Greenville County, regardless of race. On September 19, 1960, this decision became a reality.

'The Greenville 8' were seven Sterling High School students and one college freshman, Jesse Jackson, arrested after holding a library sit-in.

Image from the James Wilson Photograph Collection, courtesy of the Upcountry History Museum.

View the Service For All virtual exhibit at greenvillelibrary.org/service-for-all.

Annie Watters McPheeters

Annie Watters-McPheeters

Librarian Annie Lou Watters McPheeters was born in Floyd County, Georgia on Feb 22, 1908. When she was five years old, her family moved to Rome, Georgia. Her mother was an avid reader and introduced her love of literature to young Annie, eventually inspiring her pursuit of librarianship. This only tells half of the story, though, of Annie's two-fold quest. The other major part, as recounted by McPheeters later in her life, was that a white librarian refused her entry to the library in Rome, Georgia in the early 1920s. This spurred her on to a time when she would win the right to enter any library of her choosing during her lifetime.

McPheeters started work as a teacherlibrarian at St. Albans County Training School in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Later, she was a librarian at the Phillis Wheatley Branch of the Greenville Public Library, where she drove the bookmobile throughout the county's rural areas. She went on to become one of the first African-American professional librarians in the Atlanta Public Library where she profoundly and positively affected the life of young Martin Luther King, Jr. by reading poetry aloud with him.

Upon her retirement from the Atlanta Public Library System, she became Georgia State University's first AfricanAmercan staff person and Librarian. In 1981, she received the Outstanding Woman Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She later wrote a book, Library Service in Black and White, which recounts her struggles and triumphs as an African-American female Librarian.