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#ViolettaClarkeBaker (1871-1923)
Violetta Clarke Baker was a 1898 graduate of the #AmherstCollegeLibrarySchool, the only African American in her class. Baker was among the first African American clerks at the Library of Congress in the early 1900s, a position she held for over 20 years. During her career, she compiled a list of books by and about Black women. She also completed business courses at the predominantly white #SpencerianBusinessCollege (Washington, D.C.) and was an instructor in the Commercial Department at Howard University (Washington, D.C.) Violetta was well-known amongst the various social circles of the Black Washington, D.C. community and was a charter member of the #CorrespondentsClub, a group of Black letter writers who often refuted erroneous statements in the newspapers concerning the Black community.
She and her husband, Henry E. Baker, were a power couple in the Black D.C. community; Henry was the only assistant examiner of patents in the #USPatentOffice at the time. He also chronicled the history of African American inventors.
This image is from the #WoodfordFamilyCollection within the Nanny Jack & Co Archives. Within this collection are fabulous handwritten letters by Henry and Violetta Baker.
Courtesy of Nanny Jack & Co Archives
Colorized courtesy of #MyHeritage and #DeOldify