By Emily Williams
On July 13, the Mountain Brook City Council accepted a resolution from the city’s library board and took “Emmet” out of the library’s name, leaving it named O’Neal Library to honor later members of the family who were instrumental in establishing the city’s library system.
The issue surrounding the library’s former name originally was raised by AL.com’s Roy S. Johnson in an opinion article published July 1. The piece provided instances in which former Alabama Gov. Emmet O’Neal displayed a dedication to white supremacist ideals.
The board’s resolution to change the library’s name states, “Recent events in our state and country have turned our attention to opportunities for change and improvement and have challenged us to reconsider some long-held symbols.”
Who Was Emmet O’Neal?
In a brief history of O’Neal published by R. B. Rosenburg in the Encyclopedia of Alabama, Rosenburg wrote, “On race, he reflected the ethos of the times. He was fairer than many of his contemporaries when dealing with racial tensions, but he was strictly a white supremacist in every other area.”
O’Neal was born Sept. 23, 1853, in Florence. He attended what is now the University of North Alabama and the University of Mississippi before graduating from the University of Alabama and moving on to practice law with his father, Confederate Army veteran and former Alabama Gov. Edward O’Neal.
Emmet O’Neal served the state legislatively in a variety of ways before also being elected governor. Most notably, he was an at-large presidential elector from the state, a U.S. district attorney and president of the Alabama State Bar Association, according to Rosenburg.
Among O’Neal’s successes as governor was the creation of the Alabama Highway Commission, the passage of laws to protect mine workers and the adoption of education reform measures.
His educational successes included inaugurating a rural school library system.
O’Neal Library was established in 1962, long after Emmet O’Neal’s death in 1922, by his son and his wife. A library building was donated to Mountain Brook by Elizabeth and Kirkman O’Neal, whose children’s and grandchildren’s continued support has been instrumental to the facility’s success.
“The library would not be what it is today without the commitment of the O’Neal family,” the resolution taken up by the council recently.
It states that the board opted to drop Emmet from the library’s name because of his role in “perpetuating segregation in our state.” But the O’Neal name continues on the building as a means to honor the family’s support of the library throughout its more than 50-year history, it states.
O’Neal Open with Limited Hours
The library is now within its first stage of reopening, offering limited services to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Visitors must limit their visit to one hour, maintain a six-foot distance from others and wear face coverings.
In addition, contactless curbside pick-up of held material will continue to be available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Other OTM libraries remain limited to curbside service only.
