Preserving Portsmouth's Black History

Mae Breckenridge-Haywood wasn’t allowed to visit the Portsmouth Public Library when she was a girl. As a child growing up in segregated Portsmouth she knew that the library was for whites only. She didn’t have any library options until 1945 when Portsmouth’s black leaders convinced the city to build a library for black residents. The only catch was that the newly organized Friends of the Colored Library had to secure a location and pay for it. Within 30 days the group raised $2,000 by asking citizens to donate $1 each to buy land for the library.

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The Portsmouth Community Library (also known as the Portsmouth Colored Library) opened in 1945 with one librarian, 3,000 books, 20 magazines and three newspapers. The single-story brick building gave Portsmouth’s black residents their first access to a public library and became a meeting place for Boy Scout troops and other community groups.

The library grew to 10,000 volumes but remained separate until 1963 when Portsmouth’s libraries merged after a federal court ruling. Today Breckenridge-Haywood, president of the African American Historical Society of Portsmouth, is working to transform the former library into the Portsmouth African American History Center. The society’s goal is to preserve the photos, artifacts and memories of Portsmouth’s black history.

A $37,827 Hampton Roads Community Foundation grant paid to stabilize the building and bring in electricity, plumbing, heating and air conditioning. But the historical society still has another $150,000 to raise so it can finish interior renovations and install exhibits.

The society is following the fund-raising model used to build the library in 1945. But this time it is asking for $5 donations from individuals to save what those $1 donations built more than 60 years ago.

The museum is expected to open in 2011 and will provide a glimpse into life during the times before integration.

Learn more about the African American Historical Society of Portsmouth and its plans for a history center at blackhistoryportsmouth.org. You can donate $5 or more online or send checks to the African American Historical Society of Portsmouth, Box 2468, Portsmouth, VA 23702.