[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 16, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1151-E1152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO DR. BARBARA WILLIAMS JENKINS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2022

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a devoted 
librarian, avid researcher, and dedicated preservationist, as well as a 
longtime friend. Dr. Barbara Williams Jenkins transitioned from this 
life on October 27, 2022, in Sumter, South Carolina. Her work to 
preserve African American history in the state of South Carolina will 
have profound implications for generations to come.
  Dr. Barbara Williams Jenkins was born on August 17, 1934, in Union, 
South Carolina to the late Ernest Nesbit Williams and Johncie Sartor 
Williams. She graduated from Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, South 
Carolina in 1951. She attended Bennett College in Greensboro, North 
Carolina, and graduated in 1955 with her bachelor's degree in English 
Literature and minors in Library Science and French.
  Dr. Jenkins then went on to get her Master of Science in Library 
Science at the University of Illinois in 1956. She later continued her 
studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Atlanta 
University, and Clemson University, and received her Ph.D. in Library 
and Information Services from Rutgers University in 1980.
  I knew Dr. Jenkins well through her transformational work in the 
state. She inherited her love of learning from her parents, who were 
both graduates of Claflin University. Despite facing adversity as a 
young Black woman in academia, she was unflinching in her pursuit of 
academic excellence.
  Dr. Jenkins spent the first 40 years of her career at my alma mater, 
South Carolina State University, where she was a staunch advocate for 
the library science program and a mentor to many. She started as their 
Reserve and Circulation Librarian in 1956, and soon

[[Page E1152]]

transitioned to Reference and Documents Librarian. In 1962, she was 
elevated to the position of Library Director. She served in that 
position for 25 years. She concluded her tenure at South Carolina State 
University in 1997 after serving for 10 years as Dean of Library and 
Information Services.
  Throughout her time there, she played a crucial part in the creation 
and oversight of the South Carolina State College Historical Collection 
and the South Carolina State College Historic District, and 
memorialized many significant historical structures and sites in 
Orangeburg. She became the first African American President of the 
South Carolina Library Association in 1986.
  After her retirement from South Carolina State University, she went 
on to be a founding--member of the South Carolina African American 
Heritage Commission. Throughout the next 30 years, she would be a 
leader in the effort to document underrepresented sites in the state's 
archives related to African American History, adding an incredible 300 
markers throughout her time with the Commission. Earlier this year, the 
South Carolina African American Heritage Commission released the 
``Green Book of South Carolina'', which featured sites originally 
documented by Dr. Jenkins. Even after her retirement from the 
Commission, she remained involved in training and mentoring the next 
generation of librarians and historians to carry these efforts forward.
  She was acknowledged as a giant both on campus and in the field of 
historical preservation, and she earned many awards and accolades for 
her work. These included the Land-Grant Director's Association Award 
(1978), ``Boss of the Year'' (1980) from the Orangeburg Chapter of 
Professional Secretaries, the President's Award from the South Carolina 
Library Association (1987), the South Carolina State College 
Distinguished Service Award (1991), the University's First President's 
Service Award (1997), the SOLINET Board of Directors Service Award 
(1992) and the University's first Emeritus Award (2000). In 2019, she 
was also awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor 
in the state.
  Throughout her life, Dr. Jenkins was an active member of several 
civil and social organizations. Some of the historical and library 
boards of which she was a part include the African American Heritage 
Council, the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, the South 
Carolina Library Association, and the South Carolina Archives and 
History Commission. She was also a lifelong member of the NAACP, a 
member of The Links, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, for 
which she previously served as the Regional Director for the South 
Atlantic Region.
  Dr. Jenkins, a woman of faith, was a longtime member of Williams 
Chapel AME Church. She was married to my high school baseball and 
football coach, the late Robert ``Bobby'' Alvah Jenkins. They raised 
two children, Ronald Robert and Pamela Ruth, and shared several 
grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in 
celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Barbara Williams Jenkins. She 
dedicated her nearly 70-year long career to ensuring African American 
history was woven into the fabric of our state's history. She will be 
sorely missed and ought to be well-remembered.

                          ____________________