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A century ago, at the peak of the Harlem Renaissance, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture was formed. The Harlem-based organization, a part of the New York Public Library, has grown into a national landmark and world-renowned institution dedicated to the preservation and public access of Black history. It houses 11 million of items, including what is believed to be the first book written by a Black man; the unpublished last chapter of Malcolm X’s autobiography; the papers of Maya Angelou and James Baldwin; and much more.
To commemorate its 100 years in existence, The Schomburg Center will host a year-long celebration, library officials announced this month. Activities including a suite of new public programming, an exhibition that explores center's legacy, a Centennial Festival and even a special-edition NYPL library card.
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Centennial events
Expect special events throughout the year. Here’s what’s planned so far:
100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity exhibit
Learn about the library’s history while exploring objects from each of Schomburg’s divisions. This exhibition opening on May 8 will surround visitors with the sights, sounds, and objects that comprise Schomburg's historic past.
The Schomburg Center Centennial Festival
This major festival on June 14 will take over the inside and outside of The Schomburg Center for “an old-school block party.” The Festival is a blend of the research library’s most anticipated events, the Schomburg Center Literary Festival and the Black Comic Book Festival.
The Portrait of an Icon series
Hear intimate conversations with iconic figures as they talk about items from their archives and speak to their impact on culture. Stay tuned for dates.
The Tasting the Schomburg Collections program
Taste recipes inspired by Arturo Schomburg’s unfinished cookbook along with recipes from the Schomburg Center's menu collection at these family-style ticketed dinners. Dates have not yet been announced.
The Made at the Schomburg Series
Discover important bodies of work that were created by conducting research at the Schomburg. Programs include talks, screenings, theatrical readings, performances, and more. Keep an eye out for dates.
Stay tuned to schomburg.org/100 for more details.
About The Schomburg Center
The centennial events celebrate two significant dates in the center’s history. The first is the May 1925 opening of the Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints at NYPL’s 135th Street branch (which became the Schomburg Center in 1972). That was followed by the May 1926 purchase of the private collection of bibliophile Arturo Schomburg for $10,000 made possible with the support of the Carnegie Foundation.
As Harlem changed amid migration in the early 1900s, a growing population of Black residents sought books and other material that reflected their histories. A trailblazing team of librarians stationed in the 135th Street Branch Library—including NYPL pioneers Ernestine Rose and Catherine Latimer (the first Black librarian in the NYPL system)—sought to address the needs in a changing neighborhood. With this in mind, Latimer and Rose launched a campaign to collect items that documented the Black experience. In 1925, The Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints opened as a special collection of the 135th Street Branch Library.
“Schomburg remains a beacon to those who seek to create spaces that reclaim histories that have often been neglected, marginalized, or ignored.”
The following year, The New York Public Library acquired the personal collection of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. His collection included thousands of items, from prints and manuscripts to rare books and pamphlets. Today, the division has grown into the Schomburg Center, with a collection that contains more than 11 million items.
“It is hard to overstate the significance of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It has provided the evidence scholars and students have needed to understand Black history as global history,” Schomburg Center Director Joy Bivins said in a press release. “Schomburg remains a beacon to those who seek to create spaces that reclaim histories that have often been neglected, marginalized, or ignored. It has also seeded generations of critical scholarship and creativity that help us better understand Black experiences through its commitment to the stewardship of the objects, from text to film, that illustrate how people of African descent have shaped our collective past and continue to impact the present.”