In the spring of 1953, Mary Knowles was fired from her position at the South Norwood Branch Library outside of Boston. Previously, Knowles had been called before the United States’ Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and questioned about alleged communist activities during her 1945-1947 tenure at the Samuel Adams School for Social Studies, an institution on the US Attorney General’s list of subversive organizations.[1] Knowles invoked her fifth amendment right and refused to answer the subcommittee’s questions; although no action was taken against her by SISS, the South Norwood Branch Library terminated Knowles’ employment due to her refusal to testify.[2]
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