Lucille Smith Thompson: Librarian and Activist

Emma Riley Smith circa 1921 with daughters

Being the youngest of three girls I know how sometimes older siblings get all the headlines. That's why I want to sneak in a profile on Lucille Smith Thompson before Women's History Month is over! Alma Smith Jacobs, her big sister usually gets all the attention. She was the first African American to serve as the Montana State Librarian. You can check out more about her here.

But back to Lucille! She was born to Emma and Martin Riley in Lewiston, Montana in 1919. Lucille had two brothers and two sisters. In an era where there were still significant barriers to African American's entering higher education all five of the Riley children graduated from college. The family's education in activism for African American rights began early. Emma Riley Smith had been born in 1881 in Arkansas. Her father, James Wesley Riley was a former slave. Emma moved to Liberia in 1895 at 14. She lived there for 15 years until tragedy struck and the majority of her family died. Emma and her sister, Thelma, moved back to the U.S. and eventually to Butte, where she met and married Martin Luther Smith,

Although the family first lived in Lewiston, they soon moved to Great Falls, Montana. Lucille attended public school, graduating from Great Falls High School and then attending Talladega College in Alabama. After college, Lucille made her way West to the University of Washington. Where in 1942 she became the first African American to receive a degree in librarianship from the institution.

Lucille Smith Thompson while working at MSU

Lucille attended the University of Washington in Seattle for college. In 1942 she was the first African American to receive her undergraduate degree in librarianship. She was also the first African American library student to do a library practicum at the Ballard Carnegie Library. In 1945 she married Morrell Thompson. Lucille began her career teaching high school French and serving as the school librarian in Browning, Montana. On the side she helped open libraries in Idaho and Montana.

Book written by Lucille and her sister Alma in 1970

In 1964 Lucille was hired as a reference librarian at Montana State University. Lucille's role was activism in and of itself. While working in an environment of limited diversity she focused on making MSU a more inclusive and accepting place for all students.

In 1970 Lucille and Alma co-wrote The Negro in Montana. 1800-1945: A Selective Biography. This was another example of Lucille's dedication to social justice and her preface noted that

"[t]o many settlers of the West, the new land was an opportunity, a second chance. But the occasional Negro who came as someone's slave, maid or handyman was allowed no dreams... The West was big, but not big enough for the Caucasian settler to share his dreams with Negroes, Chinese or Indians."

Lucille was no quiet librarian simply hanging out in the stacks. She was a forward facing advocate for all students. In 1976 Lucille was elected president of the local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, a group dedicated to advancing women in education. She advanced the visibility of diversity while serving as the president of the Montana Library Association from 1978-1980. In 1978 she was selected by students in the College of Agriculture for their Friend of the Student Award. This award was given to faculty that embodied a professional and personal approach to assisting students. She served on MSU's affirmative action advisory committee as a contact for students. After working at MSU for over two decades Lucille was conferred the rank of associate professor emerita of library science. Her work was important for many reasons but her most legacy was giving African Americans and women the opportunity to see themselves represented in the academic library field.