THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Clara Stanton Jones

May 14, 1913 – September 30, 2012

“I very strongly believe that libraries are at the heart of a civilization.”

First African-American president of the American Library Association, 1976 – 1977. First woman to serve as director of a major library system in America, as director of the Detroit Public Library, 1970. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter as Commissioner to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, 1978. Co-founded with Aileen Clarke Hernandez, former President of the National Organization for Women (NOW),  the black women’s discussion group Black Women Stirring the Waters, 1984.

Photo 1. The Association of College and Research Libraries and the Black Caucus honor Julian Bond and Clara Jones, 1976. Photo 2. Coretta Scott King and Clara S. Jones at the celebration for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Annual Conference in Dallas, 1984.