The library was a dream of Yvonne Jones, one of the founders of the Martin Luther King Institute. It was started with a grant from the Westchester Board of Legislators, facilitated by Lois Bronz, another of the founders of the Martin Luther King Institute, along with some donations of books and other materials. Joe Agne and the Memorial United Methodist Church, the library opened in 2008 in the Ch
urch’s Fireside Room, with about 600 books. It now has over 1,300 books (more than 1,000 different titles), plus some DVDs and videos. Our money to purchase books now comes primarily from Barnes & Noble bookfairs, which we hold twice a year. (See opposite page)
From the beginning we have focused on books for adults and children about Dr. King, other great peacemakers, African-American history, the Civil Rights Movement, African-American biography, peace, nonviolence, anti-racism, and other related subjects. It became clear that we needed to move to a space in downtown White Plains where a car wouldn’t be necessary to visit the library. Wiley Harrison, chair of the board of the Slater Center, and Heather Miller, Executive Director of the Slater Center, offered us free space in their computer room, AND a computer dedicated to the library! We opened at the Slater Center on Nov. 1st, 2012. We are delighted with our new home. Heather and her staff have been extremely welcoming and have gone to great lengths to help us. We have received many donations of books recently. One very special donation is 25 volumes (dating from 1928 to 1954) of the Journal of Negro History (now called the Journal of African American History), founded and edited by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Modern Black History.” There are many important articles, and one volume has the transcript of a meeting after the Civil War, with African American ministers, asking for suggestions about how to help the formally enslaved. That meeting was the origin of “40 acres and a mule” - the short-lived policy, at the end of the Civil War, of providing a means for the Freedmen to support themselves. We have had many different programs for children from the White Plains Youth Bureau. They might watch a 10-15 minute film on the Civil Rights Movement, or do a re-enactment of Rosa Parks on the bus, learn about African American cowboys and cowgirls, or a brief presentation about several books in our library, for instance. We would love to prepare a program for groups of adults, too. One teacher who came to look at our collection sent an email saying “From a teaching point of view as well as a personal one, I think your library is a treasure.”
Books for adults and children are in the same room, making it easier for a parent to look for books while the children are looking for their own books. We hope you will visit us.
