by jameavelh MULEN
May 9, 2025
100 years of Black excellence.
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is celebrating its 100th anniversary amid growing concerns about the right-wing crackdown on government-funded programs that help preserve history, address historical injustices, and provide visibility to Black Americans and other marginalized groups.
The renowned center, part of the New York Public Library, will commemorate its centennial with a new exhibition called “A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity.” The exhibition showcases the library’s history by displaying books and photos from the past century. The celebration will also include book giveaways of the children’s picture book, Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library. Additionally, the institution released a special edition of the New York Public Library card for New York state residents.
Schomburg Center supporters stress the importance of supporting the institution amid the Trump administration’s attempts to cut funding for DEI programs and eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides funding to libraries nationwide.
“Too few Black institutions reach 100 years, so it is a momentous occasion indeed for the Schomburg Center to celebrate this remarkable achievement. To reach the next 100 years, we must redouble our commitment to preserving Black culture–– at the Schomburg and beyond–– and provide a roadmap for future generations looking to protect truth with history,” actor, literally advocate, and host of Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton said in a statement.
Tony Award-winning actress Kara Young echoed Burton’s sentiments. The Harlem native, who refers to the Schomburg Center as “home,” said preserving our history is our responsibility and an act of love and resistance.
The center, which is located inside the New York Public Library’s 135th Street branch in Harlem, was initially called The Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints. It started in 1925 as part of the Harlem Renaissance movement, when Black writers, artists, and scholars helped to reshape Black American culture. Writer and scholar Arturo Schomburg collected books, manuscripts, artworks, and other materials on African diasporic history. Schomburg sold his collection, which included over 10,000 items, to the New York Public Library in 1926. In 1972, the center was renamed to honor Schomburg.
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