Schomburg Center Catalog Winter/Spring 2020 by Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Winter/Spring 2020 A

Programs & Exhibitions Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jazz Festival p. 12

From the Director Winter/Spring 2020

The Schomburg Center is deeply engaged with history—both African American history and the Center’s own, with the two deeply entwined. Never is this more true than now, as we enter our 95th anniversary year. Starting as The New York Public Library’s Negro Division in 1925—and in 1926 becoming the beneficiary of the purchase and placement of Arturo Schomburg’s global, groundbreaking collection—the Schomburg Center has preserved, protected, and promoted Black culture for nearly a century. This season begins with a show in our Latimer/Edison Gallery, curated by our own Dr. Michelle Commander. Highlighting the Schomburg Center collections, including the Lapidus Center and New York Life gifts of books and historic ledgers, Subversion & the Art of Slavery Abolition reveals how the arts agitated for enslaved people’s liberty. This will be followed by our Traveling While Black show (opening March), curated by the Director. Besides rare home movies of Malcolm X on Hajj in Egypt and never-beforeviewed art by Jacob Lawrence and others, the show highlights Black escape and escapism, featuring our tremendous holdings of the Green Book, which remain the largest and most important collections in the world of these rare volumes. Our robust programming will also commemorate the publication of Overground Railroad, the definitive volume on Green Books, by our former scholar-inresidence Candacy Taylor. This January, on the weekend marking the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., we hold the eighth annual Black Comic Book Festival, a celebration of animators, illustrators, and comic-book creators, and of heroism in all its forms. In February, we continue a recent tradition with the Langston Hughes Birthday Bash Edition of our lively First Fridays, replete with good cheer, music, and dancing, all

honoring the cosmogram where Langston Hughes’s ashes lie. March heralds the start of our Women’s Jazz Festival, the annual month-long Women’s History Month showcase of leading lights and rising stars among female performers in the broad genre that is jazz today. Our education department will offer sustenance for learners of all ages—the Black Lives Matter Teen Conference, Conversations in Black Freedom Studies, and the latest incarnation of our Teen Curators program–curated exhibition in the historic American Negro Theatre. We look ahead to our 95th gala in 2021, while also celebrating The New York Public Library turning 125 years old in 2020. Please join us in the house that Arturo built—in our home here in Harlem, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Kevin Young Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

01 Authors & Archives

06 Community

05 Between the Lines 06 Open Archive

27 Community 28 First Fridays

02 Arts, Ideas & People

07 About Us

08 Talks at the Schomburg 10 Film 11 Theater Talks 11 Performance 12 Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jazz Festival

30 Map 31 Points of Interest 32 About the Schomburg Center

03 Education

How to register

17 Youth Programs 18 Conversations in Black Freedom Studies

To register for our free events, please visit: schomburgcenter. eventbrite.com

04 Lapidus Center Presents Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more

The featured calendar listings are highlights from our full schedule. For the most complete and up-to-date information, please visit: schomburgcenter.org/calendar 23 Lapidus Center Presents

05 Exhibitions

Sign up for our e-newsletter: nypl.org/schomburgnews Connect with us: 25 Exhibitions Cover: Hazel Scott, Circa 1944, The Schomburg Center Photographs and Prints Division

Authors & Archives

Between the Lines

Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor Tuesday, January 7 6:30 PM Join us for the book launch of Candacy Taylor’s Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America. Overground Railroad celebrates the stories of those who put their names in the Green Book and stood up against segregation. It shows the history of the Green Book, how we arrived at our present historical moment, and how far we still have to go when it comes to race relations in America. The author and former Schomburg Scholarin-Residence (2016–17) will be in conversation with Kevin Young, director of the Schomburg Center. Coming in June 2020!

Living in Color by Tommy Davidson Wednesday, January 29 6:30 PM Comedian and actor Tommy Davidson joins us to discuss his debut memoir Living in Color. The book explores Davidson’s life growing up in the Midwest during Jim Crow with an adopted family that shared a different cultural heritage and the influence that had on his career and views about race.

Between the Lines

Archives

Join the Schomburg Center librarians and archivists as they unveil our latest pop-up displays featuring items from our coveted collection of archival materials. Be the first to get up close and personal with selected items and enjoy an audience Q&A with the collection’s curators.

I Love Myself When I Am Laughing: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader Tuesday, February 11 6:30 PM I Love Myself When I Am Laughing has been reissued 40 years after its initial publication. This groundbreaking collection of Zora Neale Hurston’s work was born out of editor Alice Walker’s commitment to amplifying Hurston’s literary prowess and reclaiming a legacy shaped by her male contemporaries. Join us for a conversation about Hurston’s legacy, with Jamia Wilson, director of Feminist Press, Tracy Sherrod, editorial director of Amistad, Vanessa K. DeLuca, editor-in-chief of ZORA magazine, and moderated by Jennifer Baker, managing editor at Random House Children’s Books, Inc.

Annual Arturo Schomburg Celebration Friday, January 24 12:00 NOON Arturo Schomburg (1874–1938) was a writer, bibliophile, and historian dedicated to the collection and amplification of the artistic and academic production of people of African descent. Visit to view a pop-up selection of items from his original collection and learn more about the origins of the Schomburg Center. Arturo Schomburg’s commitment led to the creation of the Schomburg Collection and subsequently the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Malcolm X Remembered Friday, February 21 12:00 NOON–3:00 PM Curated from our archives, this pop-up exhibition will feature handwritten notes, rarely seen photos, and historic papers from the civil rights leader. Attendees are invited to take part in our oral history project, which includes sharing how Malcolm X’s words have made an impact on your life.

Volunteer at the Schomburg! Our dedicated and talented team of volunteers help to make every visit to the Schomburg Center an extraordinary occasion. From giving tours of our exhibitions to directing visitors to our research divisions, volunteers play an important role in helping us achieve our mission. We need your help to continue this tradition of valued service. Volunteer with us to share your talents, learn more about the Schomburg Center, and contribute to our continued success.

Apply to become a Schomburg Center volunteer or docent today. 212.491.2252 schomburgcenter.org/ volunteer schomburgvolunteers@ nypl.org

Arts, Ideas & People Inside Catfish Row: The Voices of Porgy & Bess Monday, January 13 7:00 PM Go inside the stunning scenes and examine the artistic terrain the principals and dancers traverse to enter the narrative of George Gershwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first American opera, Porgy & Bess. We will draw on the Schomburg Center's archive and feature special guests from the 2020 production, including choreographer Camille A. Brown, principals Eric Owens (Porgy) and Angel Blue (Bess), with host Terrance McKnight. Presented in collaboration with The Metropolitan Opera.

Talks at the Schomburg

MFON: Photo Salon Wednesday, January 22 6:30 PM In honor of our exhibition, Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted, join us for an evening with three emerging contemporary photographers Eva Woolridge, Nailah Fumilayo Davis, and Nadiya Nacorda who will share work and engage in a discussion about their inspiration and creative practices. This event in our American Negro Theatre is presented in collaboration with Schomburg Center Education and MFON, an independently published anthology edited by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn and Adama Delphine Fawundu. Limited seating.

The Business of Diversity

Archiving & Preserving Hip Hop

Monday, April 20 7:00 PM

Friday, February 28 6:00 PM Filmmaker and archivist Syreeta Gates gives us an exclusive preview of her documentory short Young Schomburg, her mission to archive hip hop journalism.

Wednesday, March 25 6:30 PM Diversity is a multi-billion dollar industry that has led to women and people of color having greater access to jobs and experiences historically and presently thwarted by systematic racism, gender-bias, and more. As diversity initiatives grow, data suggests that the well-meaning goals of inclusion and equity are floundering. We explore these ideas with Pamela Newkirk, PhD, author of Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business and Clyde Ford, author of Think Black, a memoir about his father John Stanley Ford, the first Black software engineer at IBM.

The Gateway: Afrofuturism Dr. Barbara Ann Teerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Black Theatre is partnering with the Schomburg Center to explore the theme of Black travel through newly micro-commissioned multidisciplinary pieces centering on Afrofuturism.

Film

WNET Films in Harlem: Always in Season Monday, February 3 6:30 PM Always in Season, directed by Jacqueline Olive, explores the lingering impact of more than a century of lynching African Americans and connects this form of historic racial terrorism to racial violence today. Following the screening, we will have a talkback with Olive and invited guests. Top: Claudia and Pierre Lacy Photographer: Phil Fonville Bottom: Claudia Lacy at her son Lennon’s grave Photographer: The Washington Post/Getty Images

WNET Films in Harlem: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool Tuesday, April 14 6:30 PM In making Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s unparalleled access to the Miles Davis Estate offers a unique view of the life of the enigmatic and influential jazz musician. This full-length documentary features never-before-seen footage, archival material, and interviews with musicians and intimate members of Miles’s circle. A talkback will be presented following the screening.

Theater Talks

Performance

A Soldier’s Play Monday, January 6 6:30 PM A new cast takes the stage in Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece, A Soldier’s Play. The crime drama set on a Louisiana Army base unveils ideas about sacrifice, service, and identity in America. Join us for a conversation with threetime Tony nominee David Alan Grier, two-time Golden Globe nominee Blair Underwood, and Tony Award–winning director Kenny Leon.

Carnegie Hall Citywide: Stefon Harris & Blackout Monday, January 27 7:00 PM Take a jazz journey with outstanding vibraphone and marimba player Stefon Harris and his band Blackout. Named Best Vibraphonist by DownBeat’s 2018 International Critics Poll, Harris spins nimble solo lines that dart and swirl, while his stellar band complements his playing with its own flights of invention. On their most recent album, Sonic Creed, Harris and Blackout chart new melodic and rhythmic paths in a compelling reflection on present-day African American life, featuring original tunes and classics by such jazz giants as Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, and Horace Silver.

Performance

Women's Jazz Festival

Harlem Chamber Players Annual Black History Month Program Thursday, February 13 6:30 PM The 12th annual Black History Month Celebration by The Harlem Chamber Players is a celebration of Harlem Renaissance 100 (#HarlemRen100) with music by Florence Price and George Walker, and poetry by Langston Hughes. The program, hosted by Terrance McKnight of WQXR, features virtuoso pianist Joseph Joubert, soprano Renay Joubert, and members of The Harlem Chamber Players.

Women’s Jazz Festival 2020 Join the Schomburg every Monday in March for this annual tradition during Women’s History Month featuring some of the best known and unsung performers in jazz today. Throughout the month we will explore the sounds from Haiti to a celebration of jazz pianist Hazel Scott’s centennial birthday. Scott is featured on the cover. Mondays in March 7:00 PM Buy tickets: schomburgcenter.eventbrite.com

Women's Jazz Festival

A Ballad for Hazel Scott March 2 An evening dedicated to the work and life of jazz and classical pianist and actor Hazel Scott.

Next Stop, Haiti! March 9 Haitian American songstress and acclaimed performing artist Pauline Jean (pictured left), brings a refreshing and erudite blend of jazz that draws from her Creole roots.

RenĂŠe Neufville March 16 The recording artist (pictured third from top), formerly of the hip hop/R&B/Soul duo ZhanĂŠ, takes the stage.

Laurin Talese March 23 Recording artist and songwriter with a flair for jazz vocals and more (pictured bottom).

Fiery String Sistas! with Dyane Harvey & the Women of the Calabash March 30 Fiery String Sistas! is an energetic ensemble that provides a refereshing alternative to the standard jazz bands. They will be joined by Dyane Harvey of Forces of Nature and Afro Cuban vocal percussion trio Women of the Calabash.

The Schomburg Shop

Curated books, jewelry, decor, and more created by artists of color capturing the global Black experience. Follow us: Instagram.com/ SchomburgShop Shop online: SchomburgShop.com

Schomburg Center Reading Circle

Schomburg Reading Circle Join the Schomburg in your branch libraries, sharing conversations with readers exploring diverse writers and subjects that amplify Black culture and history, including “Reading Slavery” selections presented in partnership with the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery. The Reading Circle meets at the Countee Cullen Branch Library on 136th Street.

Saturday, January 25 12:00 NOON

Saturday, February 29 12:00 NOON

Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson

Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter by Kerri K. Greenidge

*Reading Slavery selection.

Saturday, March 14 12:00 NOON

Saturday, April 18 12:00 NOON

Saturday, May 16 12:00 NOON

Driving While Black by Gretchen Sorin

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

It’s Not All Downhill from Here by Terry McMillan

Education

The Schomburg Center Education Department provides programs and activities for educators and learners of all ages related to our archival collections, which foster new perspectives on Black history, culture, and politics and offer new skills of inquiry, critical thinking, creative expression, and social action. For more, contact SchomburgEd@nypl.org.

Youth Programs

Black Lives Matter Teen Conference & Open Mic Night Saturday, February 8 10:00 AM–10:00 PM The Schomburg Center's fourth annual Black Lives Matter Teen Conference (BLMTC) invites young people (ages 11–18) from across New York City and the tri-state area to engage in a full day of learning and activism. The day includes activist teach-ins, youthled panel discussions, teen performances, interactive arts and media workshops, and a Teen Open Mic Night and dance party. We celebrate and affirm youth voices, and engage young people as community builders by providing them the tools and knowledge to responsibly make the world a better place. This conference is inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement, founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi in 2013, and the incredible young people who are committed to justice, equity, and happiness for all.

Teen Curators This unique after-school art history and curatorial program enrolls up to 30 high school students each year. Teen Curators is a yearlong tuition-free program that uses art education to increase the historical and cultural literacy of teenagers and promotes their intellectual and professional development through curatorial projects and aesthetic engagements with the Schomburg Center and other cultural institutions. Each year the program culminates with a student-curated exhibition featuring their artwork alongside archival materials culled from within the Schomburg Center’s five research divisions. Pictured above is author Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, in conversation with Teen Curators program students. The Schomburg Center’s Teen Curators program is generously funded for five years by the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation.

Junior Scholars Each year, 100 youth ages 11 to 18 participate in our Junior Scholars program. This tuition-free Saturday program during the school year promotes historical literacy through college-style lectures and presentations, group discussions and activities, and project-based learning. Students generate individual research, original writing, art portfolios, and collaborative multimedia arts projects from their intensive study of the Schomburg Center’s archives, exhibitions, and educational resources. The Schomburg Center's Junior Scholars program is made possible through the generous support of the Carver Scholarship Fund, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., the New York City Council, and the New York State Legislature.

Education

Conversations In Black Freedom Studies

Smart Cities: The Intersection of Art, Design & Technology

This series of roundtable conversations at the Schomburg Center brings the campus to the community on the first Thursday of each month. Curated by Professors Jeanne Theoharis (Brooklyn College/CUNY) and Komozi Woodard (Sarah Lawrence College), the series introduces a new paradigm that challenges the older geography, leadership, ideology, culture, and chronology of civil rights historiography.

Wednesday, February 19 5:00â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8:00 PM

Conversations in Black Freedom Studies is made possible through the generous support of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.

In celebration of Black Futures Month, join us for a conversation about building a new and inclusive future of technology for communities of color. This event brings together students, thought leaders, and practitioners to think about what it means to reimagine a future filled with arts, science, and technology seen through a Black lens, and/or a lens through a person of color. The event includes a panel discussion on the history of Black futurism and re-thinking the future of smart cities through Afrofuturism, followed by a Q&A, VR experiences, and interactive demonstrations.

Conversations In Black Freedom Studies

Housing Discrimination in the Jim Crow North & the Case for Reparations Thursday, February 6 6:30 PM The case for reparations is often made in reference to the long legacy of slavery in the United States. But after emancipation, Black people continued to face systematic violence and institutional racism—lack of access to safe, affordable, and decent housing is one of the most egregious examples. Join historians Beryl Satter, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Nathan Connolly in this discussion of the ways in which housing policy, over the course of the 20th and into the 21st century, created—and re-created—inequality.

The Long Struggle Against Educational Injustice Thursday, March 5 6:30 PM In the 20th century, the Black struggle for educational justice took many forms, including battles for desegregation, open admissions, and financial aid. Join this discussion with professors Rachel Devlin, Elizabeth McRae, and Devin Fergus about the Black women and girls who often led these battles, the white women who stood in the way, and the roots of student debt peonage.

Radical Black Queer & Feminist Lives Thursday, April 2 6:30 PM Queer Black voices are often left out of Black political and historical narratives. But new works by and about radical Black feminists and queer scholars and activists is illuminating other dimensions of Black political and social life. Don't miss this conversation with Barbara Smith, Imani Perry, and Saidiya Hartman.

The Poor People's Campaign, the Young Lords & Black, Brown, Red, Yellow & White Organizing Thursday, May 7 6:30 PM The struggles of indigenous people, Latinx people, and others have often been intertwined with Black radical organizing. Join historians and activists Paul Ortiz, Liz Theoharis, and Johanna Fernández for this important conversation about how organizations, like the Young Lords Party, faced the challenges and possibilities of building genuine solidarity.

Leave a Legacy “ I am a supporter of New York City cultural institutions that are dedicated to the preservation of African American history, because I feel an obligation to ensure that future generations are aware of what came before them.” —Esther D. Curtwright Join the Langston Hughes Legacy Society • Name the Schomburg Center as a beneficiary in your will or living trust. • Designate the Schomburg Center as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, financial account, or life insurance policy. • Arrange for a charitable gift annuity and receive lifetime payments. Legacy donors to the Schomburg Center are honored in their lifetime with membership to the Library’s legacy society and receive exclusive invitations to Library events, discounts, and recognition in donor publications.

Contact: Office of Planned Giving at 212.930.0652 or PlannedGifts@nypl.org

Schomburg Society Activist, educator, and poet Sonia Sanchez, our National Membership Chair (second from left), encourages you to join the Schomburg Society and to celebrate the rich legacy of the Schomburg Center while ensuring its impact for generations to come. Membership levels start at just $35 and include: • Schomburg Shop Discount ($35+) • Exhibition Previews & Event Discounts ($50+) • Holiday Party Admission & VIP Events ($100+) • Signature Gift & Special Event Invitations ($250+) • Reserved Seating at Public Programs ($500+) • Conservators Lunch with the Director ($1,000+) • VIP Open Archive & Cocktail Reception ($2,500+) • Private Behind-the-Scenes Tours ($5,000+) • Individual Lunch with the Director ($10,000+)

Contact: Membership at 212.491.2252 or SchomburgSociety@ nypl.org

Lapidus Center Presents

Abyssinian Baptist Church on Waverly Place in Manhattan. Year unknown. The photo is from the book Inside Greenwich Village: A New York City Neighborhood, 1898â&#x20AC;&#x201D;1918 by Gerald W. McFarland

Lapidus Center Presents

The Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery was founded in 2014 with a generous $2.5 million gift from Ruth and Sid Lapidus to generate and disseminate scholarly knowledge and works on the slave trade, slavery, and anti-slavery pertaining to the Atlantic World. The Center supports the work of researchers with long-term and short-term fellowships, ensuring that slavery studies are a cornerstone of the Schomburg Center’s work.

Illuminating Forgotten Histories: New York City's Early Black Communities Tuesday, February 18 6:30 PM The Lapidus Center and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation are partnering to illuminate aspects of New York City's early Black neighborhoods, from Seneca Village, a community that will soon be formally memorialized in Central Park, to Greenwich Village’s “Little Africa.” Our group of experts will address the work of discovery, preservation, and documentation of these and other historically significant but largely forgotten Black communities. Panelists include Leslie M. Harris, professor of history at Northwestern University and author of In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626–1863; Jamila Brathwaite, educator, curator, and trustee of the African American Historical Society of Rockland County; John Reddick, historian, curator, and discussion leader for the Harlem Focus series at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Exhibition Opening

Subversion & the Art of Slavery Abolition Wednesday, January 8 6:00 PM Join us for the first physical exhibition curated by Dr. Michelle Commander, associate director and curator of the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery. A special preview for Schomburg Society members will precede the opening. This exhibition in the Schomburg Center’s Latimer/ Edison Gallery highlights how slavery abolitionists used a diversity of art, including rebellion, speeches and pamphlets, novels, slave narratives, newspapers, poetry, music, and the visual arts, to agitate for enslaved peoples’ right to liberty and equality. Read more about this exhibition on p. 25.

Exhibitions

Traveling While Black: A Century of Pleasure, Pain & Pilgrimages Opening March 2020 Main Exhibition Hall The first large-scale exhibition as the Schomburg Center celebrates its 95th anniversary, Traveling While Black explores over a century of travelâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the great migration of African Americans at the start of the 20th century to the restrictions and resistances to travel in the Jim Crow South, the Jane Crow North, and in apartheid South Africa. The show centers unique Schomburg holdings, including the Green Books and Black motorcycle club photo albums, featuring those who found themselves exiles within their own country through to the pilgrims and pleasure seekers of the our time.

Exhibitions

Femmetography: Subversion & the Art of The Gaze Slavery Abolition Latimer/Edison Gallery Shifted Through May 2020 American Negro Theatre This exhibition features portraiture, experimental photography, and archival materials from the Schomburg Center's research divisions curated by secondary school students in our Teen Curators program. For this exhibition, students drew inspiration from Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe’s 1986 opus, Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers, the first book to document Black women photographers. As a new generation engages with this work, they wonder: what does the Black feminine gaze mean today? This exhibition and the Teen Curators program is generously funded by the Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation.

Art denotes strategy, ingenuity, and imagination. While slaveholders and vigilantes threatened and attempted to control Black bodily autonomy in various ways across the Atlantic world, enslaved people and their allies artfully countered this malevolence via everyday and more formally coordinated kinds of resistance. With a principal focus on American and British efforts, this exhibition highlights how slavery abolitionists used a diversity of art, including rebellion, speeches and pamphlets, novels, slave narratives, newspapers, poetry, music, and the visual arts to agitate for enslaved peoples’ right to liberty and equality. These appeals to the public’s moral, religious, and political convictions eventually yielded a robust and highly effective stream of anti-slavery propaganda and subersive acts whose potency could not be ignored, accelerating the decline of the institution.

Community

Black Comic Book Festival Friday & Saturday, January 17 & 18 10:00 AM—8:00 PM The Schomburg Center’s eighth annual Black Comic Book Festival celebrates the rich tradition of Black comic books. The two-day event features panel discussions, a cosplay show and competition, exhibitor tables with premiere Black comic creators from across the country, and more! Panelists include rap icon and comic book publisher Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (DMC GN #3), graphic novelists John Jennings and Damian Duffy (Parable of the Sower), Newbery Medal–winner Jerry Craft (New Kid), Ron Wimberly (Prince of Cats), award-winning creator and writer Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez (La Borinqueña), award-winning artist and writer Alitha Martinez (Marvel’s The Invincible Iron Man, DC Comics’s Batgirl), and Marvel writer Eve Ewing (Ironheart, Marvel Team-Up). This annual extravaganza and free community event connects thousands of comic fans, creators, bloggers, independent publishers, and collectors of all ages.

Left: Artwork by David Heredia, heroesofcolor.com

JOIN THE CELEBRATIONS!

The New York Public Library Celebrates 125 Years This year, The New York Public Library is celebrating 125 years of providing free and open access to information and opportunity for all. There’s never been a more important time to affirm the enduring power of libraries and reading. The Library will be celebrating all year with anniversary book lists, programs, and a grand opening festival for the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in Midtown on May 17. Find out how you can join the festivities and learn more: nypl.org/125

Community

First Fridays

Save the Date Harlem Week 2020 July 26â&#x20AC;&#x201C;August 16

The 46th annual Harlem Week summer extravaganza spans over one month and offers the widest variety of arts, culinary, cultural, literary, and musical events in the City of New York. Key events include the Harlem Jazz and Music Festival, Harlem Restaurant Week, the Summer in the City street fair and youth activities, the Percy Sutton 5K Run/ Walk, and Harlem Day (Sunday, August 16). Join us throughout Harlem and at the Schomburg Center. Visit: harlemweek.com.

On the first Friday of every month, join us at the Schomburg Center for our popular evening social gatherings featuring a DJ, beverages, and food, with extended hours to view our exhibitions. Bring your dancing shoes! Register: schomburgcenter. eventbrite.com

Langston Hughes Birthday Bash Edition February 7

Afro Cuban Edition March 6

Open Mic Poetry Edition April 3

Black Fraternity & Sorority Edition May 1

Gay Pride Edition June 5

House Music Edition August 7

Space Rentals For 95 years, New York Public Libraryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has been located in the heart of Harlem at 135th Street. With its convenient location and friendly staff, the Schomburg Center is the perfect venue to make your events extraordinary. Our institution offers magnificent spaces that cater to intimate gatherings and lavish extravaganzas and lends a touch of grandeur and distinction to any occasion.

Reserve the Schomburg Center for your special event: 212.491.2257 or SchomburgCenterEvents@ nypl.org

Calendar Listings

January

February Monday, February 3 • 6:30 PM Film WNET Films in Harlem: Always in Season Tuesday, February 4 • 6:30 PM Community The Moth StorySLAM: Only in Harlem Thursday, February 6 • 6:30 PM Conversations in Black Freedom Studies Housing Discrimination in the Jim Crow North & the Case for Reparations: Nathan Connolly, Beryl Satter & Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Monday, January 6 • 6:30 PM Theater Talks A Soldier’s Play Tuesday, January 7 • 6:30 PM Between the Lines Overground Railroad: The Green Book & the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor Wednesday, January 8 • 6:00 PM Exhibitions Opening: Subversion & the Art of Slavery Abolition Monday, January 13 • 7:00 PM Theater Talks Inside Catfish Row: The Voices of Porgy & Bess Friday & Saturday, January 17 & 18 • 10:00 AM Community Black Comic Book Festival

Friday, February 7 • 6:00 PM—10:00 PM First Fridays Langston Hughes Birthday Bash Edition Saturday, February 8 • 10:00 AM—5:00 PM Education Annual Black Lives Matter Teen Conference Saturday, February 8 • 6:00 PM—10:00 PM Education Teen Open Mic Night Tuesday, February 11 • 6:30 PM Between the Lines I Love Myself When I Am Laughing: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader Thursday, February 13 • 6:30 PM Performance The Harlem Chamber Players Annual Black History Month Program

Wednesday, January 22 • 6:30 PM Talks at the Schomburg MFON: Photo Salon

Tuesday, February 18 • 6:30 PM Lapidus Center Presents Illuminating Forgotten Histories: New York City’s Early Black Communities

Friday, January 24 • 12:00 NOON Open Archive Annual Arturo Schomburg Celebration

Wednesday, February 19 • 5:00—8:00 PM Education Smart Cities: The Intersection of Art, Design & Technology

Saturday, January 25 • 12:00 NOON Schomburg Reading Circle Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson

Friday, February 21 • 12:00 NOON—3:00 PM Open Archive Malcolm X Remembered

Monday, January 27 • 7:00 PM Performance Carnegie Hall Citywide: Stefon Harris & Blackout Wednesday, January 29 • 6:30 PM Between the Lines Living in Color by Tommy Davidson

Friday, February 28 • 6:00 PM Talks at the Schomburg Archiving and Preserving Hip Hop Saturday, February 29 • 12:00 NOON Schomburg Reading Circle Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter by Kerri K. Greenidge

Calendar Listings

March

April

Monday, March 2 • 7:00 PM Performance Women’s Jazz Festival: A Ballad for Hazel Scott Thursday, March 5 • 6:30 PM Conversations in Black Freedom Studies The Long Struggle Against Educational Injustice: Rachel Devlin, Devin Fergus & Elizabeth McRae Friday, March 6 • 6:00 PM—10:00 PM First Fridays Afro Cuban Edition Monday, March 9 • 7:00 PM Performance Women’s Jazz Festival: Next Stop, Haiti! with Pauline Jean Saturday, March 14 • 12:00 NOON Schomburg Reading Circle Driving While Black by Gretchen Sorin Monday, March 16 • 7:00 PM Performance Women’s Jazz Festival: Renée Neufville Monday, March 23 • 7:00 PM Performance Women’s Jazz Festival: Laurin Talese Wednesday, March 25 • 6:30 PM Talks at the Schomburg The Business of Diversity Monday, March 30 • 7:00 PM Performance Women’s Jazz Festival: Fiery String Sistas! with Dyane Harvey and the Women of the Calabash

Thursday, April 2 • 6:30 PM Conversations in Black Freedom Studies Radical Black Queer & Feminist Lives: Saidiya Hartman, Imani Perry & Barbara Smith Friday, April 3 • 6:00 PM—10:00 PM First Fridays Open Mic Poetry Edition Tuesday, April 14 • 6:30 PM Film WNET Films in Harlem: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool Saturday, April 18 • 12 NOON Schomburg Reading Circle The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates Monday, April 20 • 7:00 PM Talks at the Schomburg The Gateway: Afrofuturism

May Friday, May 1 • 6:00 PM—10:00 PM First Fridays Black Fraternity & Sorority Edition Thursday, May 7 • 6:30 PM Conversations in Black Freedom Studies The Poor People’s Campaign, the Young Lords & Black, Brown, Yellow & White Organizing: Johanna Fernández, Paul Ortiz & Liz Theoharis Saturday, May 16 • 12 NOON Schomburg Reading Circle It’s Not All Downhill from Here by Terry McMillan

June Friday, June 5 • 6:00 PM—10:00 PM First Fridays Gay Pride Edition

Map

Founded in 1925 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2017, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading cultural institutions devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences. A research center within The New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center features diverse programming and collections spanning over 11 million items that illuminate the richness of global Black history, arts, and culture. Learn more at schomburgcenter.org.

Main 3 Photographs and Prints Division

Administrative Offices

2 Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division 1 Main Entrance

Latimer/Edison Gallery

Schomburg Shop

C Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division

Langston Hughes 1 Langston Hughes Lobby and Auditorium Cosmogram BR Scholars' Center

Landmark 3 Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division 2 Art and Artifacts Division 1F Exhibition Hall

Media Gallery

BF American Negro Theatre

Courtyard (Seasonal) BR Toni Morrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bench by the Road

Shona Statue Latimer/Edison Gallery

Langston Hughes Lobby Cosmogram

Bench by the Road

Courtyard

BR Shona Statue: Dreaming of Her Own Child

Media Gallery

Exhibition Hall

Baldwin Portrait

Shop Schomburg Portrait Main Entrance

Langston Hughes Auditorium

Points of Interest

The Cosmogram Langston Hughes Lobby The spiritual center of the Schomburg Center, and memorial to Arturo Schomburg and Langston Hughes. Hughes’s ashes are buried beneath this public art installation, Rivers, designed by multidisciplinary artist Houston Conwill, that includes lines from Hughes’s poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers.

Aaron Douglas Murals Latimer/Edison Gallery Aaron Douglas is considered the foremost visual artist of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1934, Douglas was commissioned under the sponsorship of the Public Works of Art Project (WPA) to paint a series of murals for The New York Public Library's 135th Street branch. The resulting four panels—Song of the Towers; From Slavery Through Reconstruction; An Idyll of the Deep South; and The Negro in an African Setting are collectively titled Aspects of Negro Life and are now located in the Aaron Douglas Reading Room and are visible from the Latimer/Edison Gallery.

The American Negro Theatre Landmark Established in 1940, the American Negro Theatre grew to become one of the most influential Black theaters of its time. Notable actors such as Sidney Poitier, Canada Lee, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and Harry Belafonte performed at the American Negro Theatre, which also provided a platform for Black playwrights, actors, and directors to hone their craft.

About the Schomburg Center

Portrait of Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, bibliophile, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. (1900–1935).

The Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints—the forerunner to today’s Schomburg Center—opened in 1925 as a special collection of the 135th Street Branch Library to meet the needs of a changing community. The Division first won international acclaim in 1926, when the personal collection of the distinguished Puerto Rican–born Black scholar and bibliophile, Arturo (Arthur) Alfonso Schomburg, was added. His collection included more than 5,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts, 2,000 etchings and paintings, and several thousand pamphlets. Schomburg served as curator of the Division from 1932 until his death in 1938. In 1940, the Division was renamed the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History and Prints in honor of its founder. In 1972, the Schomburg Collection was designated as one of the Research Libraries of The New York Public Library and became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, named a National Historic Landmark in 2017.