"The tradition of American public libraries is closely tied to the perception that these institutions should be open to all without regard to social background. Such was not the case in the segregated South, however, where public libraries barred entry to millions of African Americans and provided tacit support for a culture of white supremacy.

A Right to Read is the first book to examine public library segregation from its origins in the late 19th century through its end during the tumultuous years of the 1960s civil rights movement. Graham focuses on Alabama, where African Americans, denied access to white libraries, worked to establish and maintain their own "Negro branches." These libraries - separate but never equal - were always underfunded and inadequately prepared to meet the needs of their constituencies."--BOOK JACKET.