Story highlights Pearl Thompson, 93, gets a library card decades later

She was turned down from checking out a book because she is African-American

(CNN) More than seven decades ago, Pearl Thompson wanted to check out a book from a North Carolina library. But she was told no, because she is black.

A county library official changed that Thursday, years after the 1942 incident during the days of racial segregation.

Thompson, now 93, was a student at Shaw University when she went to the Olivia Rainey Library in Raleigh to borrow a book for a report.

"She came to the library in 1942 to use a book for a paper she was writing, and she was denied access because she was African-American," said Ann Burlingame, deputy director for Wake County Public Libraries.

Instead of checking out the book, she was sent to the basement, where she sat among piles of old newspapers. She read the book under dim lighting, took notes and handed it back, Burlingame said.

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