The library is a classic and well-preserved example of Small’s Miesian design esthetic, with horizontal forms and a broad roof overhang carried on slim posts. Built to serve black citizens, it was named for Richard Berry Harrison (1864 -1935), a son of fugitive slaves in Canada and a nationally renowned actor, teacher, dramatic reader and lecturer, who for several years taught elocution and dramatics courses at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro.