A college job molded her destiny right into the history books. From there, Vivian Donaldson Hewitt became one of the area’s only women honored by the late Queen Elizabeth.
Hewitt was born in New Castle and had a library card as soon as she could print her name. She loved books and the worlds that a library could open to her. It was through books that she discovered a passion, a profession and a purpose that seemed to have no limits.
“Her love of reading, her love of the world, her love of learning, she was always willing to teach, to share all of her knowledge and just do it with a passion for life,” said Hewitt’s granddaughter Marivien Hewitt Laschon.
A full life shared with others, where she became friends with notable artists, from painters to one very famous playwright.
“She would tell us the story. She remembers giving August Wilson his first library card when he was a little one, and they became good friends.” Laschon said.
Hewitt graduated from Geneva College in 1943 and attended the Carnegie Library School at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University.
It was during the war that women entered the field of library service. The job had previously been dominated by men.
“[The women] were allies and advocated for each other. She was the only African American in her class, and then there were two Jewish women in her class and then one Anglo woman. They looked out for each other and kind of formed a team that looked out and practiced solidarity,” said Dr. Deborah Rogers with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Hewitt was the first Black librarian in Pittsburgh, working at the Carnegie Library’s Wylie Avenue and Homewood branches. To understand the context of this, her role made libraries and learning more accessible to Pittsburgh’s Black population.
“Having someone who was embedded in the community, worked at the Wylie Avenue Library at that time, lived in Homewood and then worked at the Homewood branch was really important for folks to be able to see themselves when they walked into the library and to know they were welcome in those spaces,” said Dr. Rogers.
She added how invaluable that was during that time.
“There’s a phrase that’s used among African Americans in reference to libraries in terms of mirrors, windows and sliding doors. It’s important for all of us to be able to see ourselves, to see others and learn about others, and then learn about the worlds that we don’t know about,” Dr. Rogers added.
Even as Hewitt helped expand the world to others, she expanded her own horizons. She moved to Atlanta, where she met John Hewitt, a professor at Morehouse University. They were married for 50 years.
“They were 90-day wonders,” Laschon said. “Engaged and married in 90 days.”
Famed Pittsburgh photographer Teenie Harris was their wedding photographer.
The couple moved to New York City where she worked as the librarian for the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In 1978, she became the first Black president of the Special Libraries Association, a global non-profit.
At that time, Hewitt and her husband started traveling the world, collecting art.
“They were big travelers and went to Haiti and engrossed themselves in the culture and meeting artists and how they punctuated their lives, bringing back a piece. It was how they told their story and how they traveled. Meeting the artist is what makes it special for them,” Laschon said.
Over the years, they became friends with the most famous African American artists of their time, including Romare Bearden, whose art has been on display in some of the world’s biggest museums, including the New York Met. His art also hung in the Hewitt home.
“They called their artwork their children because that’s what it felt like to them. It’s not a home without art on the wall,” Laschon said.
The collection was so massive that Bank of America acquired 58 pieces to display at the Harvey B. Gnatt Center for African American Arts and Culture in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other pieces are on display at Hewitt’s alma mater, Geneva College, in Beaver County.
“We’re privileged to have some of her work here because it’s an astonishing place around the world and part of a major art collections and that sort of thing,” said Geneva College president Calvin Troup.
Hewitt was recognized with a number of awards from her alma maters. She was inducted into the American Library Association’s Hall of Fame and has a Carnegie Library Initiative distinguished lecture series named in her honor.
One of Hewitt’s greatest accolades came in 2016 when she was bestowed the title of Dame by Queen Elizabeth the Second.
“As far as I know, she is the only Geneva alum who has been knighted by the Queen of England, and that really reflects a long and fruitful life,” said Dr. Troup.
Vivian Hewitt lived to be 102 years old and died in May of 2022.
Her secret to a long life?
“One of the keys is having friends younger than you, and to laugh and read every day,” Laschon said.
Book shaped Hewitt’s world and opened doors, helping her create the book of her own life. A life of culture, arts and learning.
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