When Pearl Thompson went to check out a book from the Olivia Rainey Library in North Carolina in 1942, over 70 years ago, they told her "no."
The reason was obvious at the time: Pearl was black and it wasn't allowed. During segregation, black patrons were only allowed to read the books in the basement of the library.
Today, Pearl is 93 years old. A lot has changed in the world and since she was a student at Shaw University, but the library that once turned her away believes there is still a wrong that needs to be righted.
"She came to the library in 1942 to use a book for a paper she was writing, and she was denied access because she was African-American," said Ann Burlingame, deputy director for Wake County Public Libraries.
When the current librarians heard of Pearl's story, they reached out to her all the way in Cincinnati, where she now resides. They believed it was their duty to give Pearl a library card, after all these years.
Pearl reminds me a lot of Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest park ranger in America, another smart black woman who was only able to thrive when the limits of segregation were removed.
"It's going to take me a while to get to you," she told the library staff as she slowly entered the building. "But it's been a long journey anyway."
"I just feel like this woman was denied access to a library and a book," Burlingame said. "I just wanted the opportunity to rectify that, not just for her but for us as the library system."
Watch as Pearl finally gets what is rightfully hers in the video below.
SHARE if you're glad the library did the right thing!
