ROANOKE, Va. – In most cases, it takes unwavering courage and tenacity to turn the page to a new chapter in a system calling for change. In the 1940s, a daring librarian named Virginia Young Lee went against the grain to push for what she knew was right, even when it didn’t align with societal norms at that time.
Lee was the librarian of Roanoke’s Gainsboro Library, the only library open to African Americans in the city. She had held the role since 1928. In the 1940s, white city officials ordered Lee to remove the Black history collection she had created or risk losing her job.
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Rather than succumbing to their demands, Lee stood firm, ensuring African Americans had access to literature that empowered Black voices and fostered pride in their heritage. Her collection focused on African American history, literature, and culture, highlighting both past and present accomplishments. She gathered books from her community and prominent figures like poet Langston Hughes and civil rights advocate Mary McLeod Bethune.
Lee was a force to be reckoned with, uprooting the norm with perseverance and a deep passion for preserving Black literature when it mattered most. She organized a reading club that helped secure funding for a new building to replace the library’s original single room in the YMCA. A church donated land, and she designed a new library, which opened in 1942.
During her 43 years of service, Lee paved the way for young minds, encouraging generations of children to become lifelong readers. She also trained young women in library work, sometimes using her own money to pay them.
Lee retired in 1971. In 1982, the City of Roanoke named the collection in her honor.
In 2023, a state historic marker recognizing Lee’s work and the importance of the Gainsboro Library to Roanoke’s Black community was dedicated.
10 News was at the unveiling ceremony for the historical and talked with Carla Lewis, who spoke on the significance of the event.
“She worked so hard and she went through so much to try to establish this collection and keep it that she almost got fired for having it. So she had to hide the books in the basement,” Lewis said previously.
She added, “It wasn’t just any place, it was the only place that we could go to get information to satisfy our questions … determined to get to know the people in the community. This was the place."
Lee’s life and legacy continue to be cemented in the very foundation of Roanoke. The Gainsboro Branch Library, located in the Gainsboro neighborhood at 15 Patton Avenue in Northwest Roanoke, stands as a reminder of her impact. The Virginia Lee Collection also remains at the library for people to explore.
We did a segment on Virginia Lee as part of Patchwork 250, a new initiative that tells Virginia’s story, one piece at a time, as we grow closer to the 250th anniversary of Virginia and the United States. We spoke with former Roanoke Mayor and historian Nelson, who referred to the Gainsboro Library as “Roanoke’s secret library.”
“What she did was really part of a larger movement by Black, typically female, librarians throughout the American South who were experiencing this same thing,” Harris told 10 News. “These women kept intact the collections and the archives of their libraries.”
Click here to learn more about the incredible life Virginia Lee led.