Mayme (Agnew) Clayton (1923 - 2006)

Born 4 Aug 1923 in Van Buren, Crawford, Arkansas, United States

Wife of Andrew Lee Clayton — married 27 Jan 1946 (to Jun 1966) in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, United States

Died 13 Oct 2006 at age 83 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jimmy Honey [send private message] and US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message]

Mayme (Agnew) Clayton is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Mayme (Agnew) Clayton is Notable.

Mayme (Agnew) Clayton was a librarian, and the founder, and leader of the Western States Black Research and Education Center (WSBREC), the largest privately held collection of African-American historical artifacts, books, documents, and memorabilia in the world. She also supported black filmmakers through the Black American Cinema Society and received several awards for work, including the Phoenix Award and the Paul Robeson Award.^[1]

Mayme Agnew was born on August 4, 1923 in Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas. Her father was Jerry Modique Agnew Sr, and her mother Mary Dorothy (Knight) Agnew. Her father owned and operated a general store, the only black-owned business in Van Buren. Her mother was a homemaker and renowned Southern Cook, whose dinner gatherings drew people from afar and near. At an early age, she was exposed to African American accomplishment. In 1936, her father drove to Little Rock, Arkansas, so his family could hear Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, a famous educator, speak. After hearing Dr. Bethune speak, she developed a strong interest in black literature and history.^[1][2][3]

She graduated high school at age sixteen and briefly attended Lincoln University, a historically black college in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1944, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a model and photographer's assistant.^[2][4][5] In New York, she met her future husband Andrew Lee Clayton, a soldier and barber. They married in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware on January 27, 1946.^[6] They returned to her hometown Van Buren, before heading west to California.^[1]

In 1952, she became a librarian's assistant at the University of Southern California, and in 1959, she moved to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) law library. When the university established its Afro-American Studies Center Library in 1969, Clayton, who was already known for her collection of African-American literature, began consulting and helping build the library's collection. The university initially was primarily interested in contemporary black studies and was not interested in out-of-print books. So as she became acquainted with collectors and experts in black history, she began to buy the out-of-print books herself.^[4][7]

Mayme and her husband divorced in June 1966 in Los Angeles, California.^[8]

What started as a hobby soon became her occupation. In 1972, she left UCLA and began working at Universal Books, a used bookstore in Hollywood with a huge selection of black literature. She eventually became co-owner. She founded Western States Black Research and Education Center (WSBREC) and ran the Third World Ethnic Books out of her home. In 1973, she bought Wheatley Book, a New York dealer. She returned to school and earned her bachelor's degree in history from the University of California in 1974, and her master's in library science through correspondence from Goddard College in Vermont in 1975. She then received her doctorate in humanities from the now-defunct Sierra University in Santa Monica in 1983.^[2]

Over the next forty years, she continued to comb bookstores, antique shops, garages and estate sales, flea markets and attics to add to her collection. She bought the first issue of Ebony for a dime. Throughout her life, she lived modestly to save money and add to her collection. Overall, she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build her collection, and it grew to more than 30,000 rare, first-edition, and out-of-print books by and about black culture. Her collection included over 75,000 photographs and 9,500 sound recordings.ref name='enc'/>

Currently, the collection is in the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum in Culver City, California. She was founder of the Black American Cinema Society, which awards scholarships and hosts film festivals, and was the recipient of numerous awards including the Phoenix and Paul Robeson.^[2]

Mayme died on October 13, 2006 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California.^[9] She was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia Contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encylopedia, last edited on 14 Feb 2023. "Wikipedia:Mayme_Agnew_Clayton." Accessed 24 May 2023.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} The History Makers, The Digital Repository for the Black Experience, 7 Oct 2004. "Mayme Clayton." Accessed 24 May 2023.
3. ↑ 1930 United States Federal Census: Year: 1930; Census Place: Van Buren, Crawford, Arkansas; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 2339806 Ancestry Record 6224 #120719125
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} College and Higher Education Pathways, Encyclopedia, News wires white papers and books. (n.d.). "Clayton, Mayme Agnew." Accessed 24 May 2023.
5. ↑ 1940 United States Federal Census: Year: 1940; Census Place: Van Buren, Crawford, Arkansas; Roll: m-t0627-00129; Page: 19A; Enumeration District: 17-32 Ancestry Record 2442 #101612057
6. ↑ Delaware, U.S., Marriage Records, 1750-1954: Ancestry.com. Delaware, U.S., Marriage Records, 1750-1954 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Delaware Marriages. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Hall of Records, Dover, Delaware. Ancestry Record 61368 #900081795
7. ↑ 1950 United States Federal Census: United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 2619; Sheet Number: 12; Enumeration District: 66-2150 Ancestry Record 62308 #262466489
8. ↑ California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984: Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: State of California. California Divorce Index, 1966-1984. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Ancestry Record 1141 #5008761
9. ↑ U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014: Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File Ancestry Record 3693 #80647923
10. ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16916466/mayme-agnew-clayton: accessed 24 May 2023), memorial page for Dr Mayme Agnew Clayton (4 Aug 1923–13 Oct 2006), Find A Grave: Memorial #16916466, citing Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California, USA; Maintained by Toni Jones (contributor 48013273).