The Roanoker March/April 2022 - 11

" I knew the day would come when there would be widespread interest in...the heritage
of other Blacks and their contributions to America. " -VIRGINIA YOUNG LEE
What Black national newspapers
were they being exposed to?
And what was the reading club
promoting? Some in the white
establishment became suspicious.
Perhaps the straw that broke
the proverbial camel's back
came when A.E. Lichtman, a
progressive white owner of Black
theatres, donated materials to
the Gainsboro Library. In 1936,
Lichtman had made The Virginia
Theatre, located in Gainsboro, part
of his chain and appointed a few
years later Emmett Nabors as
manager.
Dr. Laura Helton of the
University of Delaware theorized
in an email to me, " I speculate
about what might have tipped off
local officials. It could have been
the public donation of books to
the Gainsboro branch by A. E.
Lichtman...who was a supporter
of the NAACP. Lichtman's
donation was presented to Lee
by Emmett P. Nabors, Jr., the
manager of The Virginia Theatre,
who was active in the Roanoke
NAACP chapter and had several
years earlier filed suit (with
several other prominent Black
Roanoke residents) against the
Roanoke police. When that donation
became known, it may have
angered local officials. "
Lichtman made his donation
to the library in the summer of
1942. A photograph of Nabors
presenting the donation of some
20 or more volumes to Lee
appeared in Norfolk's New Journal
and Guide, a leading Black newspaper
in the state. The caption
read, " These books will take up a
section of the library to be called
'The Lichtman Shelf on Negro
History.' "
In a 1970 interview with the
Roanoke Times, Lee recalled
that period when some members
of city council asked that certain
books be removed, so she took
them to the basement in order
to protect her volumes on
Black history. " It was an effort I
absolutely refused to deviate from.
I was confident that eventually
there would be a re-evaluation
and reassessment of the material,
and I have lived to see that time. "
While not contained in any
official documentation, such
as library board or city council
minutes, Lee recalled the directive
again during a 1982 interview
where she said her employment
was even threatened. Lee
complied, but in a manner in
which city officials were not aware.
By moving what apparently was
deemed objectionable - even
subversive - materials from the
official library collection on the
main level to the library's basement,
her patrons knew they
could still request of Lee a book or
journal not found in the reading
room or card catalogue. She would
slip down to her hidden subterranean
library and then ask that
it be returned at the borrower's
convenience.
Lee's secret library became
the focus of remarkable research
by Helton that was presented in
her online 2020 lecture " Access
Restrictions and Secret Libraries:
Virginia Lee and the Policing of
Black Books. " Helton contextualized
Lee's efforts locally
and nationally as Lee and her
peers thwarted efforts by some
white officials to constrain Black
libraries and librarians during the
burgeoning days of civil rights.
The fact that Lee's collection and
activities had made the Gainsboro
Library a center of civic and
cultural life for Roanoke's Black
community and by extension a
concern for certain whites is a
tribute to her convictions and
vision.
Eventually, materials in the
basement of the Gainsboro
Library made their way
back upstairs to the
library's main shelves and
reading room. Lee retired
as the Gainsboro librarian
in 1971 and was honored
by having the collection
named for her in 1982.
At the dedication, Lee
said, " One of my main
concerns was to build
and assemble a collection
of 'Black History' books
during my tenure...I
knew the day would
come when there would
ABOVE: Virginia Lee stands
in front of a scale model of
Burrell Memorial Hospital
exhibited in the library, circa
1955.
LEFT: This 1950s image
shows the interior of the
library with Virginia Lee
behind the main desk.
be widespread interest in...the
heritage of other Blacks and their
contributions to America. "
Virginia Young Lee died in
1992. Today, her " secret " library
and archives that she dutifully
protected and preserved in
the basement in the 1940s and
continued developing during her
tenure is the treasured centerpiece
of the Gainsboro Branch Library
collection. I
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