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Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
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| Location: | 103 West 135th Street (515 Malcolm X Blvd.), New York City, New York |
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| Built: | 1905 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78001881 |
| Added to NRHP: | September 21, 1978 |
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library and archive for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located in the Harlem section of Manhattan, it is a part of the New York Public Library and is open to the general public.
The resources of the Center are broken up into five divisions, the Art and Artifacts Division, the Jean Blackwell Hutson General Research and Reference Division, the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, and the Photographs and Prints Division.
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The center's collection includes a rare recording of a speech by Marcus Garvey, documents signed by Toussaint L'Ouverture and a signed, first edition of a book of poems by Phillis Wheatley. The center contains collections of archival material of Melville J. Herskovits, John Henrik Clarke, Lorraine Hansberry, Malcolm X and Nat King Cole.[1]
In addition to research services, the center hosts readings, theater and other types of performances.[1]
The original three story building was designed by McKim, Mead & White and built in 1905[2] and located at 103 West 135th Street.[3]
In 1920, Ernestine Rose, a white woman born in Bridgehampton in 1880, became the branch librarian.[4] She quickly integrated the all white, library staff as the library became a focal point to the burgeoning Harlem Renaissance.[5] In late 1924, Rose called a meeting, with attendees including Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, James Weldon Johnson, Hubert Harrison, that decided to focus on preserving rare books, solicit donations to enhance its African American collection.[6] On May 8, 1925, it began operating as the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints, a division of the New York Public Library.[7] In 1926, Schomburg was interested in selling his vast collection of African American literature and Rose and the National Urban League convinced the Carnegie Foundation to pay $10,000 to Schomburg and then donate the books to the library. In 1926, the center's collection won international acclaim with the addition of Schomburg personal collection who wanted to demonstrate through the collection that black people had a rich history and culture.[1]
In 1932, Schomburg became collection the curator of his collection until his death in 1938.[8]
In 1940 the collection was renamed in Schomburg's honor, and it continued growing afterward.
In 1948, Jean Blackwell Hutson was named the director of the Center.[9]
In the 1960s, Hutson called a news conference and admonished that 135th street library was in a great state of disrepair and that damage to the Schomburg collection was almost certain to occur.
In 1971, the Center began being supported by the privately funded Schomburg Corporation.[10]
In 1972 was renamed the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture[11] and it was was designated as one of New York Public Library's research libraries.[8]
In 1978, the building which was on 135th between Malcolm X Blvd. and 7th Avenue was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.[12]
In 1979, it was formally listed in the NRHP.[13]
In 1980, a new Schomburg Center was founded at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard.[10]
In 1981, Wendell L. Wray became director of the Center.[14]Protests began over Wray's decision to not hire a black man to head the Center's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Division and instead hired Robert Morris.[15] In 1983, Wray resigned to pursue academic research[14] and Catherine Hooker was named acting director.[16]
In 1984, Dodson became the director and the Schomburg was known mostly to scholars, but had become more of a cultural center visited by tourists, schoolchildren and others.[1]
As early as 1984, the Schomburg was recognized as the most important institution in the world for collections of art and literature of people in Africa or its diaspora.[17]
In 1984, the Schomburg's collection was at 5 million.
In 1984 attendance was 40,000 a year.
In 1986, a scholars-in-residence program started at the center.
In 1986, an exhibit title Give me your poor... sparked controversy.[18]
In March 1987, a public funding campaign was started to raise money to renovate the old library and to enhance the new Center's housing and its functions.[19]
In 1991, completion of additions to the Schomburg Center on Malcolm X Blvd were completed. The new center on Malcolm X was expanded to include an auditorium and a connection to the old landmark building on 135th. The Art and Artifacts Division and the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division were moved into the old landmark building.[20]
In 2000, the Schomburg Center held an exhibition titled "Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery", which later went on tour around the world for more than a decade under the sponsorship of UNESCO's Slave Route Project.
In 2001, the center began operating an eight-year long, 25-week "Junior Scholars" program for 11- to 17-year-olds in which they learned about black culture and history and met accomplished people. The program ended due to lack of funds.[1]
In 2005, the center held an exhibition of letters, photographs and other material related to Malcolm X.
In 2007, the building was renovated and expanded in an $11 million project.
In 2010, the Schomburg's collection grew to 10 million items, and the center acquired the collections of Herskovits, John Henrick Clarke, Hansberry, Malcolm X and Nat King Cole.
In April 2010, Howard Dodson, announced he would retire in early 2011.[1]
During Dodson's tenure, attendance tripled to 120,000 visitors a year.[21] Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a former professor of history at the Indiana University, and great-grandson of Elijah Muhammad was announced as Dodson's replacement.[21]
In the summer of 2011, Muhammad became the fifth director of the Schomburg. His stated goals for the Center was to be a focal point for young adults and to connect with the local community organizations and schools. His desire would be to reinforce the communities pride but also to have the gateway for revealing the history of Black people, not only in the United States, but around the world.[22]
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