CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rodney Freeman, a librarian at UNC Charlotte, is working on a documentary about Black librarianship. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rodney Freeman, a librarian at UNC Charlotte, is working on a  documentary about Black librarianship

  • "Are You a Librarian: The Untold Story of Black Librarians" explores the history of Black librarians from slavery to affirmative action

  • The documentary is expected to be premiered next year at the annual conference of the American Library Association

Rodney Freeman, a digital production librarian at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte, is behind the documentary "Are You a Librarian: The Untold Story of Black Librarians."

At his job, Freeman archives documents, film and photos and helps turn them into digital form. 

“In order for people to have access to this material here, it has be digitized and online so they can find it,” Freeman said. 

He’s passionate about giving everyone access to information. 

“I think that’s the big thing for me. Any information that is hidden, bringing it to light,” Freeman said. 

Meeting several Black male librarians at a national conference for the American Library Association inspired him to pursue making a documentary.

It includes research, dozens of interviews, mostly with librarians and historians around the U.S. It also incorporates the voices of college students and recent college graduates. 

His project explores the history of Black librarians from slavery to affirmative action.

“I think it's really important to get that story out there and let people know how much a role Black librarians played in the Civil Rights Movement but also at the same time for accessing information and the fight for literacy,” Freeman said.

Then it brings you to the present, sharing accomplishments and struggles of contemporary librarianship. 

Freeman has been in the field for 16 years. 

He initially thought about pursuing law school but changed his mind while working as a library page in Illinois. Freeman said the library director there encouraged him to become a librarian. 

“I saw them doing different type of programs, and they were doing these little small documentaries with people of the community, and I said ‘yeah this is what I want to do,'" Freeman said.

Freeman said hurdles made him consider leaving the field before. 

“I faced some racism. I faced some microagressions, dealing with politics, different issues,” Freeman said. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics only 7% of librarians are Black. Freeman hopes this documentary will help increase those numbers. 

“They’ll start seeing we have a history, we belong in this field and we helped shape this field,” Freeman said. 

He also hopes to shed light on a meaningful subject. 

“This is a piece of history that is there, but it hasn’t been told,” Freeman said. 

Freeman and his team traveled as far as California to gather some of these stories. 

The documentary, which he is partly funding through a GoFundMe page, is expected to premiere in the 2025 American Library Association Conference in June. 

The Gofundme.com site is not managed by Spectrum News 1. For more information on how the site works and the rules visit  http://www.gofundme.com/safety.