In the magazine American Legacy, The magazine of African-American History and Culture, I find a wonderful story about ” The Man in the Library”.
Daniel Alexander Payne Murry is the man in the Library. Daniel Murray was an Assistant Librarian at the Library of Congress, the second African American professional to work at the Library of Congress. He created the collection of books and pamphlets by black authors for the 1900 Exhibition Universal, a World Fair. Daniel also was an active and a well known figure in Washington society.
In 1898 he led an all black delegation that met with President William McKinley and wrote essays on African American issues.
In reading the bibliography on http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/murray.html, I found something very fascinating. Daniel Alexander Payne Murry was the first African-American member of the Washington Board of Trade and he testified before the House of Representative on Jim Crow laws and African Americans moving from rural to urban areas. He was twice a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
More to come from the Africana Princess.
