The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library

by Louise S. Robbins

In 1950 Ruth W. Brown, librarian at the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Public Library, was summarily dismissed from her job after thirty years of exemplary service, ostensibly because she had circulated subversive materials. In truth, however, Brown was fired because she had become active in promoting racial equality and had helped form a group affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality.

Louise S. Robbins tells the story of the political, social, economic, and cultural threads that became interwoven in a particular time and place, creating a strong web of opposition. This combination of forces ensnared Ruth Brown and her colleagues-for the most part women and African Americans-who championed the cause of racial equality.

This episode in a small Oklahoma town almost a half-century ago is more than a disturbing local event. It exemplifies the McCarthy era, foregrounding those who labored for racial justice, sometimes at great cost, before the civil rights movement. In addition, it reveals a masking of concerns that led even Brown’s allies to obscure the cause of racial integration for which she fought. Relevant today, Ruth Brown’s story helps us understand the matrix of personal, community, state, and national forces that can lead to censorship, intolerance, and the suppression of individual rights.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Read For School, Library Science, Biography, Politics, School

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Tonya Severson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the book describes events that occurred in the 1950s, similar dangers face intellectual freedom today, as demonstrated by the hastily pushed and adopted "PATRIOT" Act.

Miss Brown, a librarian in Bartlesville OK, was investigated for circulating communist propaganda (periodicals like The Nation, or New Republic were the most "un-American" they found) during the McCarthy era, and ultimately fired. In reality, she was being punished for her social activism--inviting a black woman to join her at her white church, entering a whites-only cafe with two black women and asking to be served.

The book is a well-documented recounting of a time in American history in which fear trumped social progress, and recalled by events in the last decade where libraries are once again an arena for war--this time the "War on Terror" rather than the Cold War.

[Gillian Brownlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for sure, but really dense. I had a hard time keeping track of the various people and organizations involved.

There is so much in this book that is happening in my public library right now. It's heartbreaking.

[Jessica Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great story of a librarian and woman who deserves to be talked about! Someone needs to write a more interesting book about her so her story is shared further. (I read this for a class).

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book to read for pleasure, and I say that as a voracious reader of nonfiction. Although I may have eventually read it because I’m a librarian, I read it now because it is assigned reading in class as I pursue a library master’s. Most of the nonfiction I read has been published in the last 15 years and I think there’s a trend to make nonfiction more of a narrative to keep interest going. Although this book is essentially the story of an incident that occurred, it is very dry; the best part, or at least the most interesting part of the narrative might be the epilogue.

Nevertheless, Robbins does a great job of laying out all the facts, including the groundwork of the political and social worlds of Bartlesville. I also really enjoyed the chapter about Storm Center.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book about a librarian whose civil rights activism resulted in the loss of her job and a town run amok with accusations of communism. The book presents the facts, but that's about all it does. A listing of dates and times and facts and figures, it's hard to get through the "facts" to the human elements. For me, ultimately, this book failed because of that. As a book, this would have made an excellent scholarly article.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

VERY dry. I love Ruth Brown— I do NOT love this book. And it needed an editor.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok so like first of all i can’t believe i genuinely ENJOYED a book for school? insane.

second… miss ruth w. brown is lowkey THAT bitch. i love her?

[Nya Savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deserves a 3.5, so I gave it a 4 to maybe even out the average rating. The topic is powerful and an important story to be told, however, the writing was not the best. The first several chapters were slow and lifeless, and frankly unnecessary. They front loaded with too much background information. I don’t need to know the name of EVERY person associated with a group, their husband/wife, where they grew up, etc. We get that the oil company had a big impact on the town, now move on.

Anyways, this was a great true story about a “bad” woman who was willing to stand up against a racist southern town in the 1940s-50s

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story read this for a graduate library class. I really enjoyed how this set the scene of the early 50s, I had no idea how strong the red scare was in America this can very much be related to situations in libraries today with book bans and attempts at censorship.

[Emma Bussolotta]

Certainly important but also quite dry at points. First and last chapters seemed to be the most important.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish we could have read more about Brown's activism in HER OWN WORDS in this book. We got little snippets but the writing was more about how people reacted TO her, not who she really was, if that makes sense.

Also, all the names. Oh god, all the names listed. I couldn't keep track of who was who...

[Meg Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Brown is a badass I love her

[John Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally dip my toe into non-fiction, and I only cracked this one open as it was an assignment for grad school. I am glad I did.

This book throws a lot at you. Mostly names: people, places, and organizations (so many acronyms). In light of this I would, no joke, recommend you keep a notebook handy to keep track of who is who and what is what. Perhaps it was my not reading much non-fiction, but it seemed like a lot.

I came away reading this both inspired and beat down. The story of a model librarian forced from her position and community she serves due to others' xenophobia, racism, and segregationist beliefs all wrapped up behind a veil of "she's damaging America" and other McCarthyism BS echoes all too familiar in this day and age. Ruth Brown believed that the library's commitment to equal access of information could not exist in a segregated community. Brown did not comply.

You will have to read the rest to see how this plays out. I came away from this book with two main ideas:
1. Things are still like this. Perhaps, not unlike the accusations Brown faced, they come in a different form but the idea is still the same. Libraries are the enemy of fascism, authoritarianism, racism, and all their foot soldiers. Why? Because these horrible aspects can only take root and fester in disinformation and ignorance. A robust library and the healthy, informed community they help foster are antibiotics to such infections.
2. Whoever controls the message will control the conversation. Brown was acting on behalf of one set of beliefs, her opponents and detractors labeled her as "communist" and "anti-American." Basically shouting the loudest never mind if the facts say otherwise. An important thing to remember in this age of "alternate facts." Read this book and others like it, get facts.

[Jared Marcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a lot of folks who have reviewed this, I read this for grad school.
Like a lot of folks who have reviewed this, I also prefer a more narrative-driven style of non-fiction.

The book is thick with context - most of which, if written in today's publishing market, would probably have been woven into a subplot.
A good bit of the context that preceded the actual telling of what happened to Ruth Brown proved to be relevant only in the sense that it proved that this was a small, tightly knit, incredibly gossipy town. Many of these details were delivered with a sense that I might actually have run into these people at the corner store or had seen what they might have worn to church last Sunday. I found myself getting lost in a sea of family names and community groups that had very little to do with the actual mechanics of what happened to Ms. Brown.

[Richard Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a small town in the middle of the country in the middle of the last century, the author writes a compelling story of the town librarian who was removed from her position. Ostensibly this was because she subscribed to “subversive “ magazines like THE NATION and THE NEW REPUBLIC. However, in this town dominated by a large oil company, there is more to the story. McCarthyism, racial justice, and feminism play an important role as well. Scrupulously researched and well-written.

[Wisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many other reviewers, I read this for an MLIS class. It's definitely dry at times and very densely packed with names of people, acronyms, and a lot of other proper nouns that it was almost impossible to keep straight. But it was fascinating and shockingly, disturbingly relevant for a story that not only happened decades ago but was also written about decades ago! I'm very glad to know about this episode in history now, and I'll absolutely be talking about it.

[Tmac32 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a text needed for my masters. The actual depiction of Brown's story wasn't all that good as there were way too many references to other people and it just became to difficult to keep track of all of them. There were details relating to the movie based on her story that was a bit more interesting. The conclusion was very good.

[Donald Henry Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

I was in a sense raised from a young boy to teenage by miss brown and her library. I was aware that she was challenged and attacked and suspected to some extent the real causes, to which I agepreed, I. E. I was anti racism, but also fell partially a victim of anti communism. This book means a lot to Mr. God bless miss brown.

[Lisa Wiertel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read it for a library class. It was a little dry. I also wanted to know more about Ruth Brown. It was kind of a glossed over biography. A lot of names, acronyms, dates etc. made it hard to remember who was the good guys and bad guys.

[Brianna McNall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely dry at times, written similarly to a dissertation, but again, a story that needs told. Had no idea this happened in my current town.

[Joshua Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring as shit, but the parts that were about Ruth Brown were kind of interesting. Unfortunately, that really only feels like a small part of the book.

[Melissa Nestico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for one of my classes for my Master’s degree and I have to say, it is the only required book that I actually enjoyed reading throughout my education journey.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for a course toward my MLIS

[kristen ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

incrediblely dense with facts, a bit of a slog at times but nonetheless a very interesting anecdote of the civil rights era

[Emily Whittle · Rating 3 out of 5]

don’t think i would have picked this up on my own but not a bad read!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was required reading for a paper I'm writing, and tedious at many points. I agree with other reviews that the author needed an editor to weave this into a more compelling narrative.

[Seth Huber · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at a case that I had never heard of before. It was a little dense and hard to follow in some parts.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was Ruth Brown fired from her position as public librarian in 1950 (after 30 years of service) for circulating Communist materials, or for promoting racial equality? Either way, Brown got screwed but helped shape the Library Bill of Rights, our views on censorship, women, equality, and intellectual freedom.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I appreciate the story and the struggle, I was a bit disappointed in the 2 dimensional characters. I also would have liked to have read more about Ruth Brown and her story. However, at the end of the book, the author makes a point to inform the reader about her difficulties in obtaining information. Scary story, nonetheless.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in how the power brokers of Barlesville, Oklahoma, using the guise of McCarthyist anti-communism, were able to fire librarian Ruth Brown in 1950, and scatter or silence her supporters, for promoting racial equality.

A fascinating, although somewhat academic, account of an important struggle within the history of librarianship in the United States.