Augusta Braxton Baker was a trailblazing Black librarian, author, and storyteller. She made history in 1961 when she became the first African American woman to hold an administrative position with the New York Public Library where she oversaw all 82 branches. She was a pioneering advocate of the positive portrayal of Black people in children’s literature. Augusta Braxton Baker was born on April 1, 1911, in Baltimore, Maryland. Both of her parents were schoolteachers, who instilled in her a love of reading. During the day while her parents worked, her grandmother, Augusta Fax (from whom she received her name) cared for her and told her stories. Baker delighted in these stories, carrying her love for them throughout her life. She learned to read before starting elementary school, later enrolling in the (racially segregated) Black high school where her father taught, and graduating at the age of 16. Baker then entered the University of Pittsburgh, where she both met and married James Baker by the end of her sophomore year. Relocating with her husband to New York, Baker sought to transfer to Albany Teacher’s College (now the State University of New York at Albany), only to be met with racial opposition from the college. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin Roosevelt (who was then the Governor of New York), was on the board of the Albany Interracial Council (now the Albany Urban League). Mrs. Roosevelt heavily advocated for Baker’s transfer. Though the college did not want to admit Black people, they also did not want to oppose the governor's wife, and Baker was admitted. While there, she aimed toward a different career and wrote, "I discovered I loved books, but I didn't love teaching." She completed her education there, earning a B.A. degree in education in 1933 and a B.S. in library science in 1934. She became the first African American to earn a master's degree in librarianship from the college. In 1937 Baker began working as a children’s librarian at the 135th Street Branch (now the Countee Cullen Regional Branch) of the New York Public Libraray in Harlem. Early on she recognized the lack of positive role models in children’s literature for young Black readers. Rather than accepting the negative and limiting depictions of African Americans that predominated children’s literature, Augusta dedicated over 40 years of her life to changing the narrative. Her accomplishments include diversifying the NYPL system’s children’s book collection. She wrote and published bibliographies to help guide colleagues across the country to do the same. Augusta Baker influence major authors and illustrators to do a better job creating unbiased, anti-raciest, and accurate stories of African Americans. She served as a consultant to the public television program Sesame Street and Augusta Baker lead the American Library Association’s Children’s Services Division. After a long illness, Baker died at the age of 86 on February 23, 1998. We owe a great debt to Augusta Baker’s early anti-racist work to amplify authentic Black experiences. Her efforts reach beyond the books held on library shelves around this country. She has helped cultivate young minds for generations to come.

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