Ruby Chappelle Boyd

Ruby Chappelle Boyd (March 18, 1919 – October 25, 2024) was the first African-American librarian in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also worked to preserve the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Early life and work in libraries Ruby Chappelle was born in Philadelphia on March 18, 1919. Her parents, Bersie and Pearl Chappelle, had moved to Philadelphia from South Carolina during the Great Migration. After growing up in Philadelphia, Boyd sought work as a librarian and applied to attend Drexel Institute, but was denied admittance due to her race. While she was attending school in Atlanta, Philadelphia elementary school principal John Henry Brodhead fought a battle against discrimination in the city's government, and in 1943 the Free Library of Philadelphia advertised to hire their first African American librarian.

Work for the A.M.E. Church Boyd's maternal grandfather was an A.M.E. Church preacher and her mother served as superintendent of the Sunday school at Mother Bethel, the birthplace of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; Boyd was a lifelong member of that church.

Personal life and death Chappelle married James T. Boyd, a school principal, and had one daughter. Chappelle Boyd still lived in Philadelphia as of 2018. She turned 100 in March 2019, and was honoured by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority in August 2024. Boyd died on October 25, 2024, at the age of 105.