Groundbreaking Tucson Women

If you have visited the Quincie Douglas Library of the Pima County Public Library system, you may have seen a small bronze statue among the shelves. The statue depicts a Tucson author, Margaret Campbell, giving a copy of a book she wrote to a young Quincie Douglas, the library’s namesake.

Mrs. Margaret Campbell and
Mrs. Quincie Douglas

Why were these women honored with a permanent memorial?

In 1968 Mrs. Margaret Campbell was Arizona’s first African American novelist to publish a book, which was titled Iba the Dawn. It is a wonderful parable that takes place after the great flood of biblical times.

Born in North Carolina, one of 10 children, Campbell was raised in Cincinnati and relocated to Tucson in 1942 for health reasons. She was a well-known community figure in her South Tucson neighborhood not only for her publishing first, but also for her unusual dwelling. Campbell lived on Santa Rita Street in an underground home that she began digging herself to take shelter from the heat and dust of the Arizona desert. She eventually brought in workers to help her finish the home and to deliver a piano, which she used to give piano lessons to the children in the neighborhood.

Mrs. Quincie Douglas was born in 1905 in Oklahoma and came to Tucson in the early 1930’s with a family that she worked for as a domestic. She later became a well-loved community activist who helped residents of the neighborhood by starting a transportation program for people with limitations.

After retiring in 1964 Douglas suffered a stroke that limited her mobility. Not one to just sit by and accept her limitations, she campaigned to help other people suffering the same fate. In 1965, Douglas received $24,000 from the Tucson Committee for Economic Opportunity and started L.I.F.T.S. (Low Income Free Transportation Service), which was taken over by the city six years later and renamed Special Needs Transportation Service. Today, the service is known as Van Tran. The Quincie Douglas Library and the Quincie Douglas Recreation Center are named in honor of her.

The sculpture's home at the Quincie Douglas Library

The 18-inch sculpture was funded through the Tucson Pima Arts Council and created by local artist Richard Quin Davis, Quincie Douglas' grandson. The statue exists largely because of the effort of Gloria Smith, a local historian and former lecturer in the University of Arizona's African American Studies program. It was dedicated in 2010.

Sources:
“What’s with that?” Arizona Daily Star.  Caliente section.  April 18, 2003.  Page  F44.

Guest opinion: Presence as varied as Arizona’s history by Gloria Smith on Feb. 19, 2007. http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2007/02/19/42232-guest-opinion-presence-as-varied-a

The mystery of Margaret Campbell, by Mark McLemore. August 31, 2011. Arizona Public Media.
https://www.azpm.org/s/6970-the-mystery-of-margaret-campbell/



Written by Samantha Barry

Mythbuster

Okay, so you might have a very typical image in your mind of a librarian: conservatively dressed, perhaps wearing a cardigan, hair up in a bun, wearing glasses and sensible heels, and shushing people.

Georgia at the Quincie Douglas branch

Now let me shatter that image. Georgia is a young, energetic librarian at the Quincie Douglas branch of the Pima County Public Library system. She plays bass and sings in a band, plays bass in a community symphony, wears bright red lipstick, sports tattoos and body jewelry proudly, and she plays roller derby. Yes, I said roller derby.

One of Georgia's tattoos

Georgia grew up in the library. Her mother has been a librarian in the Long Beach, California system for 45 years. She started volunteering in the library when she was twelve and started working there when she was sixteen. She learned the importance of libraries and how they provide so many services and so much information for everyone in a community. Her mother always told her that “Librarians are the great equalizers of the community.” She has worked under this mantra in her own career as a librarian.

Georgia has a Bachelor’s in Women’s Studies, with a Minor in Music Performance and worked for a domestic violence shelter after college. After deciding to go back to work in the library as a clerk in 2007, she received a scholarship from the Friends of the Green Valley branch of the Pima County Public Library (PCPL) system and attended library school at the University of Arizona. She was hired as a Librarian I at the PCPL’s Main branch in August of 2010 she worked in collection development. Georgia then moved on to the Quincie Douglas branch in June 2011 where she works as a Children's Librarian, which has always been her goal.

Georgia loves music. She played in a Prog Metal band called SoEra, a 60’s soul cover band called Drama Club, and the Arizona Symphony (the primary symphony at the U of A). She currently plays in a non-profit orchestra called the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra (SASO), which she is traveling with to China in the new year.

While attending a roller derby bout with a friend, she decided she had to be a part of the experience; she didn’t want to just watch from the sidelines. One problem: she didn’t know how to skate! She learned how, tried out for the team, passed her skills test, and now is proudly known on the team as Dewey Decimatrix. 

Georgia sporting her name proudly

I took my family to watch her in action at the Tucson Roller Derby in a warehouse, which they call the TRD Wreck House, on the south side of Tucson. Her team, the Furious Truckstop Waitresses, were decked out in pink and black and surrounded by fans. I have to admit, that the excitement was contagious and the bout was impressive. I give all the skaters kudos for being out there!   

Tucson Roller Derby

How do libraries and the roller derby fit together? Georgia looks at both as ways for her to be active in the Tucson community. Working with the public at Quincie Douglas and being aggressive in the rink have helped her build confidence, learn how to work with people, be part of a team, be more assertive, and how to pick her battles.

She says “I always feel valued as a librarian, but not always as a roller derby skater.” Where the library came naturally, she really had to work at being a skater and learning the game. She credits both her mentors at the library (Librarian Beth Rubio) and in roller derby ("wife” aka best friend in derby, Luna E. Clips) for helping her learn these skills and overcoming her fears. Luna also happens to be a Pima County employee, she is a public defender. “Seeing someone who nurtures you and encourages you makes you want to do the same thing. I try to do that for others in my life," she says.

Oh, and did I also mention that she bakes? That she has won pie contests? Her uniform number is 641.86, the Dewey Decimal number for baking.

Have you been in a library lately? You should go. Get to know the staff at the library. Not only are they amazingly dedicated to the library and their customers, they have a wealth of experiences. As Georgia says, “Librarians are interested in everything.”

Visit the Quincie Douglas branch and say hello to Georgia for me.

Written by Samantha Barry