Augusta Baker

Augusta Braxton Baker
Born	April 1, 1911 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	February 23, 1998(1998-02-23) (aged 86) Columbia, South Carolina

Augusta Braxton Baker (April 1, 1911 – February 23, 1998) was an African-American librarian and storyteller, renowned for her contributions to 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 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. It was then the wife of Franklin Roosevelt (who was then the Governor of New York), Eleanor, who was on the board of the Albany Interracial Council (now the Albany Urban League) and heavily advocated for Baker’s successful transfer. Though the college did not want to admit blacks, 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.

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