Eleanor Young Love facts for kids

Eleanor Young Love was a leader in education and libraries.

Eleanor Young Love (1922–2006) was an important African-American librarian and educator from Kentucky. She was the daughter of Whitney Young and the sister of Whitney Young, Jr., who was a famous civil rights leader. Eleanor worked at the Lincoln Institute, a special high school for Black students. This school was in Lincoln Ridge, KY during a time when schools were separated by race in Kentucky. Her father was the president of this school. Eleanor earned several college degrees, including one from Atlanta University, one from the University of Louisville, and another from the University of Illinois.

Growing Up and Her Education

Eleanor Young was born on October 10, 1922, in Shelby County, Kentucky. Her parents were Whitney and Laura (Ray) Young. She had two siblings, Whitney Young Jr. and Arnita Young. Arnita became a well-known social worker in Chicago. Eleanor's mother was one of the first African American female postmasters in the United States.

Eleanor's father was the head of the Lincoln Institute. All the teachers and staff lived at the school, so Eleanor grew up there. At that time, Kentucky had segregated schools. This meant Black and white students went to separate schools. Many counties in Kentucky did not have high schools for Black students. Because of this, many Black families sent their children to Lincoln Institute.

Eleanor went to Lincoln Normal School for elementary grades. Then she attended Lincoln Institute for high school. She was very involved in her church and had a strong religious upbringing.

Eleanor attended Kentucky State University for college. She was very active there, starting clubs and leading many community service projects. She also worked to pay for her schooling. She studied English and worked in the library. She then received a scholarship to Atlanta University to study Library Science. Later, she earned a Masters of Education degree from the University of Louisville. She also received her Doctorate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana. While studying for her doctorate, she worked part-time in Chicago.

Her Amazing Career

Eleanor Love worked as a librarian at several places. She was a librarian at Lincoln Institute and Florida A&M University. Later, she became the head librarian at Bergen Junior College, which is part of Fairleigh Dickinson University.

In 1955, she made history by becoming the first African American librarian at the University of Kentucky. In the 1960s, she became a professor at the University of Louisville. She taught Educational Psychology there.

Eleanor also took over from her father as the head of the Lincoln Institute. In the late 1960s, schools began to desegregate (stop being separated by race). Because of this, Lincoln Institute changed into the Whitney Young Job Corps Center. This center helped young people learn job skills.

Later, Eleanor became the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville. This made her the first African-American dean at the university.

Eleanor Love received many important awards for her work. These included two Governor's Appreciation Citations and being named a Kentucky Colonel twice. This is Kentucky's highest honor. She also received the Urban League's Equality Award and the NAACP Worthington Award twice. The University of Louisville gave her its Minority Affairs award twice. She also received the YMCA Black Achievers award and the Kentucky State University Outstanding Achievers award.

She was the chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission for Louisville and Jefferson County. She also helped and guided hundreds of young people in her community. Today, there is a scholarship named after her at the University of Louisville. It helps students who want to study school counseling. The city of Louisville also sponsors a humanitarian award in her name.

Eleanor Young Love passed away on July 14, 2006, in Kentucky.