Literary Landmark: Portsmouth Community Library - Bertha Winborne Edwards
Portsmouth, Va.
Dedicated December 17, 2015
Partners: Friends of the Portsmouth Public Library, Portsmouth Department of Museums, Portsmouth Public Library, African-American Historical Society of Portsmouth.
Bertha Winborne Edwards, (1920-2009), author and organizer of the Portsmouth Community Library, used this building to launch her research and writing on black history in Portsmouth. As the first public librarian for blacks in Portsmouth, Edwards made the Community Library a welcoming crossroads for many of the history-makers, civil rights activists, community leaders, and students who are featured in the nine volumes of Portsmouth black history that she authored.
Resources:
Portsmouth's Colored Community Museum Library now a literary landmark (Pilot Picks)
