Mayme Agnew Clayton

Mayme Agnew Clayton
Clayton in 1973
Born(1923-08-04)August 4, 1923
Van Buren, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedOctober 13, 2006(2006-10-13) (aged 83)
U.S.
OccupationLibrarian

Mayme Agnew Clayton (August 4, 1923 – October 13, 2006)[1] was a librarian, and the founder, president, and leader of the Western States Black Research and Education Center (WSBREC), the largest privately held collection of African-American historical materials in the world. The collection represents the core holdings of the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum (MCLM), formerly located in Culver City, California. This collection was curated and managed by her son, Avery Clayton.[2] The museum is the largest and most academically substantial independently held collection of objects, documents, and memorabilia on African American history and culture. On July 31, 2019, the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum closed permanently. The bulk of its collections went to the West Los Angeles College in unincorporated Los Angeles County on a temporary basis.[3]

Over the course of 45 years, Clayton single-handedly, and with her own resources, collected more than 30,000 rare and out-of-print books. The collection is considered one of the most important for African-American materials and consists of 3.5 million items, according to UCLA Magazine. Her collecting grew from her work as a librarian, first at the University of Southern California and later at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she began to build an African-American collection. "Ms. Clayton, an avid golfer, traveled for her sport, trolling for rare finds wherever she went. The centerpiece of the collection that grew this way is a signed copy of Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, from 1773. First published by an American of African descent, the book was acquired for $600 from a New York dealer in 1973. In 2002 it was appraised at $30,000," according to the New York Times.[4]

Other items in her collection include movie posters (one featuring Stepin Fetchit), newspaper clippings regarding actress Dorothy Dandridge, and a letter handwritten by educator Booker T. Washington.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Historymakers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Copage, Eric V. (2008-02-01). "the race TO SAVE BLACK History". Ebony. 63 (4).
  3. ^ "The Clayton is Closed – MCLM Takes Steps to Chart a New Path – Culver City Crossroads". Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  4. ^ "Trove of Black History Gathered Over Lifetime Seeks a Museum". New York Times. 2014-06-12. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  5. ^ "Well-Preserved: How Mayme Clayton Saved America's Black Past". UCLA Magazine. April 2010.