Celebrating Diversity

Our collection

The J. Lewis Crozer Library collection actively promotes diversity. Each collection in the Library has both a general section and an African American section. Furthermore, our librarians have been diligently adding titles for all ages in Spanish. The specialized collections promote literacy among our patrons and provide easy access to books for school projects and life-long learning.

MLK in Chester: Click here to learn more.

milestones in history

September 17, 1787: Article I, Section II of “the Constitution of the United States allowed a male slave to count as three-fifths of a man in determining representation in the House of Representatives.” Click here for more information about this section of the Constitution.

September 9, 1915: Founding of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History by Carter G. Woodson. Learn more about the Association here.

September 23, 1957: Little Rock, Arkansas’ Central High School is integrated. For an overview of this event, click here.

September 30, 1962: Integration of University of Mississippi, “Ole Miss.” Learn more about this event and its significance here.

September 25, 2016: “The Black Lives Matter movement gained renewed attention when San Francisco 49ers players Eric Reid, Eli Harold, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem before the game against the Seattle Seahawks to draw attention to recent acts of police brutality. Dozens of other players in the NFL and beyond followed suit.”

October 16, 1859: John Brown’s Raid at Harpers Ferry. This site is now a National Park. Learn more about the raid and its participants.

General Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. shakes the hand of the mayor of Cherbourg

October 25, 1940: Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. became the first black general in the United States Army. Read a brief biography here.

Oct. 29, 1969: Approximately 15 years after the Supreme Court’s decision related to ending racial discrimination in Brown vs. Board of Education, the court issued a ruling in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education that school districts must end segregation “now and hereafter,” as opposed to the earlier, more vague reference to “all deliberate speed.” Learn more about this important case here.

October 16, 1995: Million Man March — “Hundreds of thousands of black men gathered in Washington, D.C. for the Million Man March, one of the largest demonstrations of its kind in the capital’s history.” View flyers for the event here.