Another Great Loss – Dr. E.J.Josey
Just a few days before we were leaving for ALA’s annual conference in Chicago, it was announced that Dr. E.J. Josey had died. This is a great loss for our profession.
E.J. was to African American librarianship that Dr. Arnulfo Trejo was to Latino librarianship. They singularly worked to get more people of color into our profession.
When I was in library school and afterwards, I read much of E.J.’s articles and cited his books. I was so impressed by his work and his commitment.
I can’t remember when/where I was the first time I met E.J. What I do remember was after that first initial meeting, he remembered who I was every time. I was so impressed by this and never forgot the way he made you feel like you were the most important person he had ever met!
There was a time growing up in the profession when almost every African American librarian I met was touched by E.J.’s generosity and mentoring. But E.J. didn’t exclusively mentor people of color, his mentoring included many library leaders in our profession.
My only hope is that someone in LIS education will be as committed as E.J. was and dedicate him/herself to the recruitment and retention of minority students in LIS education. Several people come to mind — Dr. Kathleen de la Pena McCook, Dr. Clara Chu, Dr. Ana Cleveland, and Dr. Em Claire Knowles.
A true leader in our profession is gone. May his legacy live on forever.
Tags: African American librarianship, Arnulfo Trejo, E.J. Josey, LIS minority recruitment/retention
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