A.P. Marshall

Courtesy YHS.

Albert Prince (A.P.) Marshall, son of Early and Mary Bland Marshall, was born September 5, 1914 in Texarkana, Texas and raised in Oklahoma. He graduated from Missouri’s Lincoln University in 1939 with a bachelor’s degree in library science and earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1950. A.P. worked at Lincoln University, becoming director of the Inman E. Page Library. A leading librarian, he was President of the Missouri Library Association and Vice President American Library Association. During the 1950s he was President of the Missouri state NAACP.

A.P. came to Eastern Michigan University in 1969 and retired in 1980. In that time he taught library science and served as the director of Eastern Michigan University’s library as well as the Dean of Academic Services. He was involved in the Ypsilanti Rotary Club, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Ypsilanti-Willow Run Branch of the NAACP and Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, for which he wrote a history.

While in Ypsilanti Marshall began to research the city’s historic African-American community. His pioneering work brought to life figures like Elijah McCoy and helped transform Ypsilanti’;s sense of itself.  A.P. wrote many articles and several books about Black Ypsilanti, including ‘Unconquered Souls’ available at the Ypsilanti Library. In the process of his research Marshall conducted dozens of interviews and collected hundreds of documents. To access the A.P. Marshall papers at the Ypsilanti Historical Archives, please contact  734-217-8236 or email yhs.archives@gmail.com.

Albert Prince Marshall died on March 9, 2001 at the age of 86.