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First Black President of Library Group Dies in NC

WASHINGTON, N.C. (AP) - The first Black president of the American Library Association has died in eastern North Carolina.

Amina Josey Turner says her father, E.J. Josey, died Friday at his home in Washington at age 85 from natural causes.

Josey served as president of the American Library Association from 1985 to 1986.

Turner says her father's efforts during the civil rights movement led to the desegregation of library associations in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Services will be held Saturday at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, N.C. The family says a memorial tribute will be held at the University of Pittsburgh later in the summer. Josey was a professor emeritus at the school.

Josey is survived by his daughter, ex-wife, Rev. Dorothy J. Josey, six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

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