By Bill Parry
The longtime head of an African-American-focused community library in Corona has been appointed to the Queens Library board of trustees by Borough President Melinda Katz.
Andrew P. Jackson, also known as Sekou Molefi Baako, was executive director of the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center for 36 years before retiring last year. The East Elmhurst resident has a long history of community service and continues to serve as an adjunct professor at York College, where he teaches in the Black Studies Program and the Cultural Diversity Program, and as an adjunct professor at Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies.
“As someone who has devoted his life to the promotion of literacy and learning to the benefit of the community, I am thankful that Borough President Katz has appointed me to the Queens Library board of trustees,” Jackson said. “I am committed to using my library-management experience to ensure that Queens Library is governed with transparency and fiscal soundness. We must continue to provide quality service to the Queens residents who depend upon having access to its vast catalogue of books and other media, and to its many educational, cultural and community programs.”
Jackson continues to serve as executive director emeritus at the Langston Hughes Community Library, a full-service, general-circulation library with an extensive reference collection of materials related to African-American history and culture, and a cultural arts program that offers a variety of programming, including independent film screenings, stage presentations, panel discussions, concerts and art exhibitions.
“Mr. Jackson has extensive library-management experience and has been a driving force behind the rise of the Langston Hughes Library and Cultural Center into a world-renowned institution of African-American scholarship and an important center of learning, literacy and culture in Queens,” Katz said. “Mr. Jackson’s life work reflects a dedication to serving communities and will be an invaluable addition to the Queens Library board of trustees, which is entrusted with providing sound stewardship to our borough’s top-flight public library system.”
Jackson is an award-winning author and prolific essayist, lecturer, and public speaker. Last year he was inducted to the New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame for his service in the U.S. Air Force between 1964 and 1968 assigned to the 4th Air Commando Squad at Nha Trang Air Base in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott is endorsing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to provide free college tuition for families making less than $125,000 a year. Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders, who joined Cuomo on stage at LaGuardia Community College for the unveiling last week, called the plan “revolutionary,” but it will need to be approved by the state Legislature.
“The governor is providing a tremendous opportunity to prospective students who may not be able to afford an undergraduate degree,” Walcott said. “As we expand our efforts to educate and inform more individuals in Queens and beyond, we look forward to seeing his proposal become a reality.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
