About Evelyn A. Russell

Evelyn A. Russell was born September 27, 1947 in Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, NY to Sallie L. Russell and Melvin L. Russell of Halsey Street.

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A student at P.S. 25 in Bedford-Stuyvesant in the late 1950s, Evelyn excelled at reading and writing at piano. She shared her love of learning with her P.S. 25 best friend Bernice Green. The Russell Family were active members of Cornerstone Baptist Church, where Reverend Dr. Sandy F. Ray was pastor.

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While she attended college, Evelyn worked part-time as a salesclerk, bank teller and long-distance telephone operator. She also served as a part-time tutor and teacher’s aide in English, drama and music in the Upward Bound program at the struggling Franklin K. Lane High School. Evelyn was committed to education and helping promising students achieve their potential. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

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Evelyn’s editorial and writing skills secured her a position at Bowker Publishing Company, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Subject Guide to Books in Print. She was one of the first African-American women to manage and lead the company’s editorial services department, supervising up to 75 employees. While employed at Bowker, she was a member of the American Library Association and Special Library Association. Evelyn remained at Bowker in New York City for the next ten years.

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In 1981, her editorial talents lead her to Congressional Quarterly in Washington, DC. There she helped establish an online service called Washington Alert, which tracked congressional bills from submission to passage. Her work on BillTrack and Washington Alert made her an early participant in electronic journalism. Ms. Russell worked as a managing editor at Congressional Quarterly until 1996.

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Evelyn Russell passed away May 13, 2005, from respiratory failure due to sarcoidosis, an inflammatory autoimmune disease. She was a devoted mother, daughter and grandmother. She made perfect grilled cheese sandwiches and excelled at the Washington Post and New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzles—in ink. Evelyn believed that wherever she traveled, Brooklyn was a special place and it would always have a home in her heart.

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Evelyn Russell’s legacy lives on in her children, grandchildren and friends. She instilled a love of learning and books in her children Adam, Aprille and Aisha Russell. In 2017, Evelyn’s children and her P.S. 25 friend Bernice Green established the Evelyn A. Russell Scholar Award in her honor.