The Schomburg Center opens

*On this date in 1905, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture opened. This is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide.

It is located in the Harlem, New York and an integral part of the Harlem community. 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. In addition to research services, the center hosts readings, discussions, art exhibitions, and theatrical events. It is open to the general public.

In 1901, Andrew Carnegie tentatively agreed to donate $5,200,000 construct sixty-five branch libraries in New York City, with the requirement that the City provide the land and maintain the buildings once construction was complete. Later in 1901 Carnegie formally signed a contract with the City of New York to transfer his donation to the city to then allow it to justify purchasing the land to house the libraries. the three story library building at 103 West 135th Street opened with 10,000 books and its librarian in charge was Getrude Cohen. In 1920, Ernestine Rose, a white woman became the branch librarian and integrated the all white, library staff.

Catherine Latimer, the first African American librarian hired by the NYPL, was sent to work with Rose as was Roberta Bosely. Some time later, Sadie Peterson Delaney became employed at the branch. Together, they created a plan to assist integrating reading into the lives of the library attendees and cooperated with schools and social organizations in the community. In 1921, the library hosted the first exhibition of African American in Harlem; it became an annual event and a focal point to the burgeoning Harlem Renaissance. In 1923, the 135th Street branch was the only branch in New York City employing blacks as librarians, adding Regina M. Anderson. A 135th Street branch report to the American Library Association, in 1923 stated that requests for books about blacks or written by blacks had been increasing and that the demand for professionally trained blacks librarians was also.

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. On May 8, 1925, it began operating as the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints, a division of the NYPL. In 1926, Schomburg was interested in selling his collection of African American literature because he wanted it to be available to he general public but he wanted the collection to stay in Harlem. 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 acclaim with the addition of Schomburg's personal collection. Schomburg’s collection (About 5,000 objects) showed that black people had a history and a culture and were not inferior to other races.

In 1930, the Center had 18,000 volumes. In 1932, Schomburg became collection the curator of his collection until his death in 1938. Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick became the next curator. In 1935, the Center began delivering books once a week to the handicap. In 1940, the entire Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints was renamed the Schomburg Collection of Negro History and Literature. In 1942 Rose retired when the library had 40,000 books and Dorothy Robinson Homer replaced her as Branch Librarian, after the Citizen's Committee of the 135th Street Branch Library specifically requested a Negro to replace Rose. The 1942 extension of the library became known as the Countee Cullen Library and the 135th Street Library is still considered the original location of the Countee Cullen library by the New York Public Library. Homers created a room of books just for young adults and created the American Negro Theatre in the basement that spawned the play Anna Lucasta, which was moved to Broadway. She kept the emphasis on building a community center for art, music and drama. She put on art exhibits that favored unknown, young artists of all races. During WWII, Homer started a program of monthly concert recitals in the auditorium to enhance public spirit, but the demand by performers and audience members to continue the practice made it permanent.

In 1948, Jean Blackwell was named the director of the Center. In a 1966 speech, Hutson warns of the perilous status of the Schomburg collection and in 1971, the Center began being supported by the privately funded Schomburg Corporation. In 1972, funds by New York City were allocated to renovate the building at 103 West 135th and it was renamed the building of the Schomburg Collection for Research in Black Culture. The entire Schomburg collection was rounded up from various branch libraries and transferred to the Center and in 1972; it was designated as one of NYPL's research libraries. In 1973, a building on the west side of Lenox Avenue between 135th and 136th was bought so that it could be demolished and a new building could be constructed. In 1978, the building, which was on 135th between Malcolm X Blvd. and 7th Avenue, was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. In 1979, it was formally listed in the NRHP.

In 1980, a new Schomburg Center was founded at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard. One year later, the original building, which held the Schomburg Collection was, designated a New York City Landmark. In 1981, Wendell L. Wray became the director of the Center. In 1983, Wray resigned to pursue academic research and Catherine Hooker was named acting director.

Howard Dodson became the director in 1984, at a time when the Schomburg's collection was at 5 million. In 1984 attendance was 40,000 a year. During that time, 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. In 1986, a scholars-in-residence program started at the center. In 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. In 1991 additions to the Schomburg Center were completed. The new center on Malcolm X blvd. 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.

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 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 and was one of the sponsors of the African Burial Ground National Monument. The Schomburg Center had 120,000 visitors a year, by 2010, and Dodson retired in early 2011. Their current director is Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad.

Reference:
Schomburg Center