The Guild marks with sadness the recent passing of Howard R. L. Cook (1934-2023), a one-time Library of Congress employee whose legacy has made a world of difference to the character of our workplace. As Executive Director of Black Employees of the Library of Congress (BELC), throughout the 1970s and ’80s Cook worked tenaciously to fight discrimination, eventually with a class action lawsuit that was ultimately successful as of1996. In 2021 he published Discrimination Within the Library of Congress: The Fight Was Hard! to gather the story of his and his colleagues’ efforts.
Left: Discrimination Within the Library of Congress by Howard R. L. Cook
Right: Howard Cook, executive director of BELC, speaks at a press conference, June 2, 1975. Photo by Wellner Street. Washington Area Spark / D.C. Public Library, The People’s Archive, Evening Star (Washington Star) Collection
Saul Schniderman, Guild President 1998-2018, writes:
Howard Cook was a tireless advocate for Black employees at the Library of Congress. In his quest for racial equality and fairness, Mr. Cook could best be described as the Library’s long-distance runner. His EEO complaint and subsequent federal lawsuit resulted in compensatory pay upgrades for many African American workers. The final settlement agreement of his fourteen-year racial discrimination lawsuit (Cook v. Billington et al.) resulted in millions of dollars of back pay for some 2,000 affected employees.
The “Cook Case,” as it came to be known, also resulted in systemic changes to the Library of Congress’s Merit Selection Plan. The application process was revised, the rating and ranking of job applicants made more transparent, and interview procedures were enhanced with the goal of reducing bias. These changes—which the Library bargained in good-faith with its unions—resulted in a more level playing field for employees seeking merit promotions.
Mr. Cook’s tenacity as an advocate for change at the Library earned him praise from many employees who regarded him as a counselor and mentor.
