Ruby Chappelle Boyd

Ruby Chappelle Boyd (born March 18, 1919) was the first African-American librarian in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also worked to preserve the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Early life and work in libraries Ruby Chappelle was born March 18, 1919, in Philadelphia. Her parents, Bersie and Pearl Chappelle, had moved to Philadelphia from South Carolina during the Great Migration. After growing up in Philadelphia, Boyd sought work as a librarian and applied to attend Drexel Institute, but was denied admittance due to her race. Boyd is a graduate of Wilberforce University and attended Atlanta University Library School, earning her Bachelor in Library Science and Service degree in 1943. While she was attending school in Atlanta, Philadelphia elementary school principal John Henry Brodhead fought a battle against discrimination in the city's government, and in 1943 the Free Library of Philadelphia advertised to hire their first African American librarian. Upon Boyd's return to Philadelphia she applied for the position and was appointed the city's first black librarian. She later became the first black librarian in the School District of Philadelphia.