CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21, through Saturday, July 25, while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27. Click for more details on holds, program schedules, and returns during the closure. 

Local History

Black History

Taborn, Jeannette

Jeannette Taborn (1925-2016) took her role as a board member for various local organizations seriously. Described as someone with a “quiet and calm manner...”

Maxwell, Thomas

One of Kalamazoo’s earliest black residents was Thomas Maxwell. What can we find out about Maxwell with the records at our disposal? According to his obituary published in the Kalamazoo…

Minott, Margaret

Margaret Minott was the first African American elected to the Kalamazoo Board of Education. She was instrumental in the effort to desegregate Kalamazoo Public Schools, and it was through her efforts that the Oshtemo Branch Library came to be.

North Burdick Grocery and Market

Established in 1949, the North Burdick Grocery and Market (1907 N. Burdick) was the first African American-owned and operated business in Kalamazoo.

Northside Neighborhood

There is a book waiting to be written about Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood, however no sketch of this length can do justice to its rich, complex and fascinating history. The current boundaries of the neighborhood run from Douglas Avenue...

Oliver v. Kalamazoo Board of Education

The following is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the Kalamazoo Public Schools desegregation case (Oliver v. Kalamazoo Board of Education), but rather an abridged, introductory timeline of…

Phillips Brothers

Of all the dance orchestras and concert ensembles that Kalamazoo produced during the 19th century, the Phillips Brothers’ Orchestra was among the busiest… and perhaps the best. Five talented violinists; Joseph, Joshua, Sylvester, Albert and Gilmore..

Powell, Alma H.

The library has always been a special place for both children and adults looking to plunge into the folds of a gripping story. One such storyteller who could spin an enthralling yarn was Alma H. Powell.

Pratt, Charles A.

One of several existing legal associations in Kalamazoo, is the Charles A. Pratt Bar Association, which takes its name from a homegrown success story. Pratt, who passed away on 21…

Roberts, Duane L.

Duane L. Roberts was a native son of Kalamazoo, and one of its most important voices for community change for more than three decades. At the time of his death…

Shrine of the Black Madonna, No. 7

In 1977, a former grocery store building in the Northside Neighborhood was converted into a church called the Shrine of the Black Madonna. The local congregation adopted the theological platform of the Black Christian Nationalist Church.

Spradling, Mary Mace

Mary Mace Spradling’s revolutionary act of diversifying the library collection is only one part of her legacy as a librarian.

Stafford, Wallace F. W.

Little is known of the life of Wallace F. W. Stafford aside from a few early life events that speak to Stafford’s community standing and professional interests. And while his…

Underground Railroad in Kalamazoo

More than three million African-Americans lived as slaves in the Southern United States in the mid-1800s. They had few human rights and were regularly bought and sold at auction. Whole…

Van Avery Drug Store Protest

By 1963, the post-World War II fervor for civil rights, which had begun several years earlier in southern states like Alabama and Mississippi, had reached northern states like Michigan, where…

Walker, Moses L.

Even after passing away in January of 2020 at age 79, longtime civic leader Moses L. Walker was still receiving accolades for his many years of service to the community.…

Washington, Arthur, Jr.

In January of 2003, the Justice Center facility at Crosstown Parkway and S. Burdick Street was named in honor of Kalamazoo’s first black city commissioner, Arthur Washington Jr.. A humble…

White, Albert

Albert White was an African American building contractor who lived and worked in Kalamazoo from the 1870s until his death in 1930. He and his men helped build a number of well known structures in Kalamazoo history.

Whitten, Anna L.

In 1999, Anna Whitten received the Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA of Kalamazoo. In their brochure for the event, Whitten was described as “one of the busiest public…