Cornelius Connant “Cal” Bibb was born in Alton, IL, in 30 Dec 1900, one of six children born to Scott Nathaniel Bibb, born into slavery in Missouri, and Minnie L. Stokes Bibb, who had been married 23 March 1882. In 1908, when Cornelius was seven, Bibb’s father won a long-fought battle for Black children to be admitted with White children to schools in Alton, IL. The case had been in the courts since 1897, before Cornelius was born, gaining extensive national news coverage for Bibb’s family. Scott Bibb died in 1909, leaving Minnie a widow. By 1915, the family had moved to Ottumwa, IA, where Cornelius could enroll alongside White students and graduate from Ottumwa High School.
During his time at ISC, he lived for a number of semesters in what residents called “The Interstate Club,” an apartment at 226 1/2 Main Street in the Elliott Building. His marriage to Beatrice Jennie Campbell occurred in New York City on 12 May 1941. He was employed by the New York Transit System Power Division and as a machine operator in a refining company. Bibb, a Methodist, died 18 November 1959 in The Bronx, NY. He is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale, New York.
Sources
Photo Credit: Iowa State University. (1925). Cornelius C. Bibb. [Photograph]. 1925 Bomb, p. 47. Retrieved from https://n2t.net/ark:/87292/w9n04q
