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Marjorie Adele Blackistone Bradford (1911- 1999) was born May 10, 1911, in Washington, D.C in Washington, D.C. She earned a degree from the University of Michigan in 1934 and graduated from the Columbia University School of Library Service in 1935.
She was first African American librarian hired by the Detroit Public Library in 1938. In this role, she successfully improved the library's Black History collection. She was married to Dr. Horace F. Bradfield, and the mother of two children when she left the library profession in 1950.
After her return in 1964, she continued to advocate for libraries, and was successful in increasing funds for the E. Azalia Hackley Collection of Black Performing Arts materials at Detroit Public Library.
Ms. Blackistone Bradfield ended her library career as head librarian for the Detroit Public Schools, but before her retirement, she recommended that the DPL hire Clara Stanton Jones as their first woman and African American library director. For more information about her life, The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan houses her autobiography.
In her autobiography, Marjorie Bradfield describes her first library jobs, and the events that led her to the Detroit Public Library. It highlights Bradfield's professional accomplishments, as well as challenges she faced as an African American woman in the library field. The autobiography includes an appendix with citations of essays and articles written by Bradfield.
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