NEW YORK (AP) — Celebrating its centennial, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture aims to raise awareness about its vast repository of Black history. On Saturday, the center will host a festival combining two annual events: the Black Comic Book Festival and the Schomburg Literary Festival. This comprehensive festival will include readings, panel discussions, workshops, children's story times, cosplay, and a vendor marketplace. The celebration will take place along 135th Street in Manhattan, between Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell boulevards.
Founded in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, the Schomburg Center plans to spend the following year showcasing over 100 curated items from its extensive catalog, which includes Black literature, art, recordings, and films. Many artists, writers, and community leaders have found inspiration and rooted their work in a deep understanding of the African diaspora at this historic institution.
As a branch of the New York Public Library system, the Schomburg Center remains a free and accessible resource for the public, despite the need for appointments to access its renowned research division. In a climate that often confronts race-conscious education and diversity initiatives, the center embodies a commitment to preserving the legacies and traditions of Black literary arts.
“The longevity the Schomburg has invested in preserving the traditions of the Black literary arts is worth celebrating,” said Mahogany Brown, an author and poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center, who will participate in the literary festival. The centennial will showcase more than 100 items illustrating the center's history, the communities it has served, and significant contributors throughout its existence. Featured items include a visitor register log from 1925-1940, highlighting signatures from Black literary figures such as Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, materials documenting the birth of hip hop, and Ossie Davis's script for “Purlie Victorious.”
Actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, known for “Reading Rainbow,” has narrated an audio guide for the exhibition. Joy Bivins, Director of the Schomburg Center and curator of the centennial collection, emphasized that visitors would gain a broader understanding of the Schomburg’s history and the cultural heritage of people of African descent, as well as how this heritage fuels creativity across various disciplines.
Novella Ford, the associate director of public programs and exhibitions, shared that the Schomburg Center approaches its work focusing on Black existence and the contemporary issues facing the community. “We’re constantly connecting the present to the past, always looking back to move forward, and vice versa,” she said.
Despite the center's rich history, there remains a lack of awareness about its resources outside the local community, a concern heightened by ongoing gentrification in Harlem and political efforts to stifle race-conscious educational initiatives. Ford stated, “We amplify scholars of color. It’s about reawakening. It gives us the tools and the voice to push back by affirming the beauty, complexity, and presence of Black identity.”
The Schomburg Center boasts a collection of 11 million items and is recognized as one of the oldest and largest archives dedicated to the history and culture of people of African descent. This legacy can be traced back to its founder, Arturo Schomburg, an Afro-Latino historian who began collecting materials after being told that Black people lacked significant historical contributions. In 1926, he sold his personal collection of about 4,000 books and pamphlets to the New York Public Library, laying the foundation for the Schomburg Center.
Over the years, the center has expanded from a reading room to three buildings that include a theater and an auditorium for public programming. Tammi Lawson, curator of the arts and artifacts division, noted a historical absence of Black women artists in the permanent collection and has since focused on acquiring their works. “What makes the Schomburg Center’s arts and artifacts division unique is that we started collecting 50 years before anyone else thought to do it, making our collection one of the most comprehensive of Black art in a public institution,” she said.
The Schomburg Center has also made significant contributions to the local community through its Junior Scholars Program, which provides tuition-free opportunities for youth in grades 6-12 to access its extensive resources and create multimedia showcases reflective of today’s Black experiences. This program plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the center and the Harlem community, providing young scholars with a sense of identity and purpose, impacting their future careers in fields like media, dance, poetry, and visual arts.
