Wendell L. Wray

Wendell L. Wray (January 30, 1926 – August 24, 2003) was an American librarian and educator who was dedicated to preserving African-American history through oral history. He was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh from 1973 to 1988, with a break from 1981 to 1983 while he served as the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Wendell L. Wray
Born(1926-01-30)January 30, 1926
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
DiedAugust 24, 2003(2003-08-24) (aged 77)
San Francisco, California, US
NationalityAmerican
Education
OccupationLibrarian, educator

Early life and education

Wendell Leonard Wray was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1926.[1] He grew up in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended South Hills High School.[2] He served in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge in 1946.[2] Receiving a scholarship under the G.I. Bill, he attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.[3] At Bates he was the poet laureate of his class; he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in psychology in 1950.[2]

He returned to Pittsburgh to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology and became the first African-American man to graduate from that library school, earning his Master of Library Science in 1952.[3]

Work in libraries and education

Wray was the first African-American man to be hired by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where he worked for seven years, first in Adult Circulation and later in Public Affairs.[3][2]

In 1959 he moved to New York City.[3] Wray worked for fourteen years at branch libraries of the New York Public Library.[4] He directed the NYPL North Manhattan Library Project when it began in 1965 until 1973; the program provided financial support for additional staff and programming to better serve disadvantaged communities.[4][2][5]

Alex Haley, author of Roots, encouraged and financially supported Wray to study at the Columbia University's new oral history course in the summer of 1973.[6][2]

In 1973 Wray became a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Science.[4] That same year he received the school's Distinguished Alumnus Award.[3] Wray taught courses on library and information science basics like reference and collection development, as well as more specific areas like library services to the underserved, African-American bibliography, and oral history.[3] He retired from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988.[3]

Work at the Schomburg Center

From 1964 to 1965, Wray was the acting director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture during chief Jean Blackwell Hutson's leave of absence.[4] In that role, he planned the Schomburg archival conservation and restoration program and worked to establish an oral history program within the research center.[4]

In 1981 Wray was named chief of the Schomburg Center.[4] During his time as director of the Schomburg, the research center began displaying exhibits in a new gallery space and started The Schomburg Collection of Black Children's Literature and Materials.[7] Wray was criticized for hiring Robert C. Morris to be the head of the Center's rare books, manuscripts and archives;[8] activists protested the hiring of a white man to be the head archivist.[9] He resigned in March 1983.[8]

Later life and death

After retirement, he moved to Oakland, California, where he was an active member of two Episcopal parishes.[3][10] He lived in Oakland until his death on August 24, 2003 in San Francisco.[10]

References
  1. Bleier, Carol (2001). Tradition in transition : a history of the School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. Scarecrow Press. p. 96. ISBN 9780810840881.
  2. "Guide to the Wendell L. Wray Papers, 1885-2003 UA.90.F88". University of Pittsburgh University Library System. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  3. Hart, Peter (11 September 2003). "Obituary: Wendell Leonard Wray". University Times. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. Fraser, C. Gerald (4 April 1981). "Schomburg Black Culture Center Names Wendell Wray as Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  5. Young, Arthur P. (1988). American Library History: A Bibliography of Dissertations and Theses. Scarecrow Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780810821385.
  6. "Vital Stats". Bates Magazine. Summer 2004.
  7. The legacy of Arthur A. Schomburg : a celebration of the past, a vision for the future ; an exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture October 23, 1986-March 28, 1987. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 1986. p. 15. ISBN 0871042991.
  8. "The City: Schomburg Center Loses Its Chief". The New York Times. 10 March 1983. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  9. "The City: 2 Black Activists Seized in Protest". The New York Times. 19 November 1982. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  10. "Wendell Leonard Wray". East Bay Times. 31 August 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
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