Librarian Jean Blackwell Hutson ’35

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The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture stands as one of the world’s leading institutions dedicated to Black history, arts, and culture. Yet what many don’t know is that Barnard alumna Jean Blackwell Hutson ’35 was critical in building the collection as its curator for nearly four decades.

Raised in Baltimore, young Jean was captivated by the city’s Enoch Pratt Free Library. “[The library] was an inspiration to lots of young readers,” Hutson said in a 1989 interview with Barnard Magazine, adding that it had a “great influence” on her as a child. 

Hutson initially pursued pre-med studies at the University of Michigan for three years, aiming to become a psychiatrist. However, her activism in pushing for dormitory integration raised concerns for her mother, who feared it might jeopardize her future. Believing that racial barriers would be less of an issue at an elite women’s college in New York City, her mother urged her to transfer to Barnard in 1934.

While the College did provide Hutson with the vibrancy of life in Manhattan, it did not shield her from racism, and finding housing was her first challenge. Barnard’s dean, Virginia Gildersleeve, opposed her living on campus and suggested that she would be happier in Harlem with “her people.” Hutson’s mother firmly disagreed, pointing out that since they didn’t know anyone in the City, her daughter should live on campus. As a compromise, Hutson moved into the International House, a diverse residence a few blocks from Barnard that exposed her to cultures from around the world — an experience she later credited with broadening her global perspective.

Inside the classroom, Hutson faced professors who doubted that a Black student belonged at Barnard. She was undeterred. “Hutson did not seek to vilify Gildersleeve or [her professors] but positioned herself with them as participants in an ongoing and difficult struggle around issues of race in America,” wrote Judith Weisenfeld ’86, professor of religion at Princeton University and former Barnard professor. 

In 1936, just one year after Hutson graduated from Barnard — as its second Black graduate — with a degree in English, she secured an advanced degree from Columbia’s School of Library Service. Initially, obtaining the degree was a practical decision; Hutson wanted to become a librarian so she could earn money for medical school. However, it is not surprising that the little girl who had loved her local library found her life’s calling as a librarian.

    Hutson began working for the New York Public Library in 1936. She was assigned to a number of local city branches before becoming the acting curator for the Schomburg Collection. 

    During her tenure, the collection’s catalog was published and became a resource for educators and researchers and, importantly, for the residents of Harlem.         “Many people assumed that they knew all there was to know just by being Black, but there is much more to the history of Black people,” she told Barnard Alumnae Magazine in 1989.

In addition to overseeing the collection, Hutson elevated its visibility. She organized the Schomburg Corporation, a nonprofit organization that obtained needed funding for the center. She was also a part of the team that secured grants to build a new facility, which opened in 1980, to house the collection.

Hutson’s accomplishments took her outside of Harlem. She received a personal invitation from Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, to help create the Africana Collection at the University of Ghana, which Hutson worked on, beginning in 1964. 

While Hutson was in many ways an unsung hero of one of the world’s best collections on Black culture, her contributions were recognized during her lifetime. In 1990, Barnard honored her with the Medal of Distinction. Four years later, the Schomburg named its research and reference division after her.

Hutson stepped down as the Schomburg’s chief in 1980 and then served as the assistant director of Collection Management and Development for Black Culture until her retirement in 1984. Hutson was also a founding member of the Harlem Cultural Council and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters.