by Kandiss Edwards
June 14, 2025
The Schomburg will celebrate its 100th anniversary with an old-school New York block party will feature the best the diaspora has to offer.
On June 14, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture will celebrate its centennial with a block party.
The Schomburg Centennial Festival is an all-day event starting at 11 a.m. at the Langston Hughes Auditorium in New York. Honoring the institute’s founder comes at an appropriate time, as June is Caribbean Heritage Month.
In a statement, Novella Ford, associate director at the Schomburg, spoke about the institution’s importance and celebration.
“For a century, the Schomburg Center has occupied an important role in the intellectual and creative life of Harlem,” said Ford. “The festival is a moment to celebrate our legacy while continuing to nurture Black creativity and center work that values Black history and culture. Being in community means tending to our liberation and our joy in the ‘public square,’ free for all to experience.”
The Schomburg’s Black Comic Book Festival will be held simultaneously. The inclusion of the festival in the celebration ensures Blerds are represented. Guests are invited to cosplay and take to the Octavia E. Butler stage for the Black Cosplay Showcase.
Other Programming – Panels, Free Books, and More
Free books – The Countee Cullen Mobile Library will hand out “Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library. It will also sign attendees up for free library cards.
Panels – Mahogany Browne, comedian Wyatt Cenac, and Damon Young will be among the panelists featured in “That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor.” Also, Nigerian-Americans Glory Edim and OlaRonke Akinmowo will discuss how to expand the current literary marketplace.
Kids Clubhouse – The event includes the Woke Baby Festival and Jump Up Jamboree. Kids will experience hands-on workshops, book signings, and more.
Block Party – The festival will conclude with a “Stoop Session” featuring DJ D-Nice and Slick Rick.
For a detailed list of events, click here.
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg was an immigrant of Puerto Rican and German descent. The activist was a dedicated supporter of the Cuban and Puerto Rican liberation movements, who created the Las Dos Antillas political organization. Later in his life, he began searching for and collecting “physical proof of Black intellect, accomplishment, and historic importance. By the early 1920s, he was an active member of the Negro Society for Historical Research and the American Negro Academy,” as cited by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Schomburg made the curation his life’s work. In 1926, the New York Public Library acquired over 10,000 of his items, which led to the creation of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
The festival celebrates Schomburg’s contributions to preserving the history of the Black diaspora. Literature panels, music, art, and food will also be on-site, guaranteeing something for everyone.
The Schomburg Centennial will take place June 14 at the Langston Hughes Auditorium, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard | 135th Street. Be on time, as a parade featuring the Brooklyn Marching Band is kicking off the celebration.
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