Schomburg Center Catalog Summer 2019 by Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Summer 2019 Programs and Exhibitions First Fridays: Gay Pride Edition p. 20

From the Director Spring/Summer 2019

Welcome to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Our 2019 spring/summer season resonates with call and response—from our legendary archives to recent acquisitions, rare books to new literature, jazz to hip hop, from Harlem to the world. Come explore Harlem’s historic community and its status as a Black cultural capital in our new exhibition A Ballad for Harlem, now open in the Main Gallery in the Landmark wing of the center. In this exhibition, you can discover aspects of Harlem history, including recent key acquisitions like the archive of Ann Petry, the first Black woman to author a bestselling book. Foundational figures like Langston Hughes serve as a guide to the century across which the Schomburg Center has borne witness to Harlem’s “changing same.” This catalog’s cover features Stormé DeLarverié, the Black lesbian activist and performer who sparked the Stonewall uprising in 1969 that ignited the gay rights movement 50 years ago. Her archives held here at Schomburg tell the story of her early performances as well as her work as an activist. Celebrate her legacy at World Pride Month at our annual First Fridays Gay Pride Edition on June 7. Experience the Schomburg Literary Festival on June 29, a new festival in our repertoire, with day-long activities celebrating books both within the center and along the iconic 135th Street corridor. And be sure to join us in late summer for the bountiful 45th Anniversary of Harlem Week, with the 135th Street corridor outside the Schomburg Shop windows as a perpetual venue. The festivities marking the anniversary run from July 28 through August 24. Cover Image: Stormé DeLarverié from The Jewel Box Revue program, 1950s, The Schomburg Center Photographs and Prints Division.

We’ll be seeing you here in Harlem, long the center of the Black diaspora and for nearly a century home to the Schomburg Center, devoted to the preservation and study of Black culture in all its majesty.

Kevin Young Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

01 01 Authors & Archives

04 Community 06

05 Between the Lines 06 Open Archive

20 Community 21 First Fridays

07 About Us 04

Arts, Ideas & People

09 Film 09 Talks at the Schomburg

24 Map 25 Points of Interest

03 04 Education

HOW TO REGISTER

13 Youth Programs 14 Professional Development 14 Conversations in Black Freedom Studies

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

04 Lapidus Center Presents 05

THERE’S MORE

16 Lapidus Center Presents 17 Reading Slavery

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

05 06 Exhibitions

19 A Ballad for Harlem 19 Crusader: Martin Luther King Jr. 19 Femmetography: Shifting the Gaze

Connect with us:

Authors & Archives

BETWEEN THE LINES

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo Friday, May 10 6:30 PM The Schomburg Center education department offers this special edition of Between the Lines with young adult readers, artists, and activists in mind. New York Timesbestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo returns to the stage to launch her new book, With the Fire on High. In this novel, Emoni Santiago is a high school student who has also become a young mother. She faces tough choices, living with her daughter and her abuela and learning to embrace her creativity in the kitchen—"the one place she can let it all go."

Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful Tuesday, May 14 6:30 PM Join us for the New York City book launch of Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful (Aperture), featuring the photography that helped popularized the slogan “Black Is Beautiful.” This monograph—the first ever dedicated to Brathwaite’s remarkable career—tells the story of a key, but under-recognized, figure of the second Harlem Renaissance. The launch event will feature a conversation with Kwame S. Brathwaite, archive director; Tanisha C. Ford, author and historian; former Grandassa model Eunice Townsend; moderated by Kimberly R. Drew, art curator, writer and social activist.

Untitled (Sikolo Brathwaite with Headpiece designed by Carolee Prince), 1968. Kwame Brathwaite/Courtesy of Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles

We welcome attendees to recreate looks and hair styles that pay homage to the "Naturally" fashion shows and cultural celebrations that are also reverberating in the current vernacular of Black style and culture. Books will be available in the Schomburg Shop and a book signing will follow the program.

BETWEEN THE LINES

OPEN ARCHIVE

Augusta Savage Wednesday, June 12 1:00 PM Join the Schomburg Center curators, librarians, and archivists for an interactive conversation about the life and work of master sculptor Augusta Savage (1892–1962). View curated selections from the Schomburg’s unparalleled collection of archival materials highlighting Savage’s sculptures and influential community of Harlem-based artist friends.

Schomburg Center Literary Festival Saturday, June 29 10:00 AM–6:00 PM The inaugural Schomburg Center Literary Festival expands our long tradition of championing authors of African descent from across the globe and publications that celebrate Black history and culture. The daylong book festival will feature exhibitors, readings, panel discussions, workshops, and more for all ages, from prose to poetry, comic books to young adult novels, fiction and nonfiction. To learn more: schomburgcenterlitfest.org The Schomburg Center Literary Festival is made possible through the generous support of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.

Be sure to see more of Augusta Savage's work in our current exhibition, A Ballad for Harlem, in the Main Exhibition Hall.

Celebrating Tap Dance Thursday, May 23 1:00 PM In celebration of National Tap Dance Day (May 25) Schomburg Center librarians and archivists will display selected items from our coveted collection. Get up close and personal with the materials, enjoy an audience Q&A with the collection’s curators, and see special guest performances from the Tap Family Reunion.

The Schomburg Shop

Curated books, jewelry, decor, and more, capturing the global Black experience. Follow us: instagram.com/ schomburgshop Shop online at schomburgshop.com

Arts, Ideas & People

FILM

TALKS AT THE SCHOMBURG

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Tuesday, June 18 6:30 PM The Schomburg Center Literary Festival presents an advance screening of the documentary Tony Morrison: The Pieces I Am. The film offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to 70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics, and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history, and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature.

Malcolm X Birthday Celebration Friday, May 17 1:30 PM The Schomburg Center is proud to present the 19th Annual Commemoration of the Birthday of Malcolm X, to reflect on the brief and impactful life of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, with materials and images from the Malcolm X Archive, film and audio selections, and discussions of his life and work throughout the day.

Nollywood In Harlem! Screening of God Calling Wednesday, July 10 5:00â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9:00 PM Join us for this special Nollywood movie screening and talkback with cast members of God Calling and the impact of the blooming Nigerian movie industry. This Nollywood to the World feature film pushes the common perception of faithbased movies with a compelling story of trial and faith rooted in the dynamics of the Nigerian culture and family values.

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 a new “Reading Slavery” series (p.17) presented by our Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery.

May 2019 Zora and Langston by Yuval Taylor

SCHOMBURG CENTER READING CIRCLE

June 2019

July 2019

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

The Black Jacobins by CLR James

Survival Math by Mitchell Jackson

July 2019

August 2019

Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers

Education

Schomburg Education 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

Teen Curators Exhibition Opening Tuesday, June 11 6:00 PM

Junior Scholars Youth Summit: Homecoming Saturday, May 11 12:00 NOON The Junior Scholars program celebrates creativity, historical literacy, and the arts at the 18th Annual Youth Summit: Homecoming. This multimedia event reflects the scholarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; yearlong study of early African civilizations, colonization, migration, and Diasporic liberation movements, and pays homage to ancestors whose stories live on through the archives housed at the Schomburg Center. The program features youth-led projects in dance, theater, spoken word, visual arts, research, and comic book art. Doors open at 11:00 AM. The Schomburg 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.

The Teen Curators program, where arts education leads to increased historical and cultural literacy, culminates this season of aesthetic engagements and curatorial projects with an exhibition featuring portraiture, experimental photography, and archival materials. The Teen Curators in this cohort focused on the first book documenting Black women photographers, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Asheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1985, Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers. Through this engaging work, Teen Curators examine the Black feminine gaze. Learn about their new exhibition (p.19) Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted. The Schomburg Teen Curators program is generously funded for five years by the Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

From Brown to the Boycott: Teaching the History & Struggle of Segregation in NYC Schools

CONVERSATIONS IN BLACK FREEDOM STUDIES

This series of roundtable conversations at the Schomburg Center brings the university 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. Conversations in Black Freedom Studies is made possible through the generous support of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.

Wednesday, June 5 6:00 PM The largest demonstration of the U.S. Civil Rights movement took place right here in New York City, not in the South, and it was a protest against segregated schooling. On February 3, 1964, nearly half a million Black and Brown students stayed out of school and marched through the city's streets. This battle against segregated schooling continues today, but how and why have the schools been so segregated? What resources can educators use to help students understand this history? Join us for this important conversation with scholars Noliwe Rooks, Clarence Taylor, and Jeanne Theoharis, along with a youth representative from Teens Take Charge.

The Struggle Against Jim Crow North: Police Brutality, Mass Incarceration & Educational Discrimination Thursday, May 2 6:30 PM Jim Crow is best known for its impact in the South, but institutional segregation and systemic inequality defined life for African Americans living in the North through racist policies in housing, schools, and policing. Join Brian Purnell, Kris Burrell, Clarence Taylor, and James Forman in a conversation that will examine the history of Jim Crow North and its continued impact on inequality in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educational and criminal justice systems.

Support the Schomburg Center Activist, educator, and poet Sonia Sanchez, our National Membership Chair (second from left) encourages you to support the Schomburg Center. Here is how you can: Join the Schomburg Society Support the mission of the Schomburg Center while enjoying exclusive member benefits, including Shop and event discounts: schomburg.org/join Give to the Schomburg Center A gift in any amount supports public exhibitions, programs. and library resources dedicated to the exploration of the African Diaspora: schomburg.org/give Leave a Legacy to the Schomburg Center As a member of the Legacy Society your gift preserves and provides access to the richness of Black culture for generations to come. Contact: plannedgifts@nypl.org

Volunteer at the Schomburg! Volunteers have the opportunity to share their talents, learn more about the Schomburg and engage with the community while contributing to the Schomburg Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success. schomburgcenter.org/ volunteer

Lapidus Center Presents The Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, founded in 2014 with a generous $2.5 million gift from Ruth and Sid Lapidus, generates and disseminates 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 Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broader research community.

LAPIDUS CENTER CONFERENCE 2019

Enduring Slavery: Resistance, Public Memory, and Transatlantic Archives October 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12 Save the date! Join us this fall for our second biennial conference. Enduring Slavery will feature numerous compelling presentations and discussions on transatlantic slavery and its afterlives. Free and open to the public.

LAPIDUS CENTER PRESENTS

We Carry It Within Us

READING SLAVERY

Include these important works in your summer reading to continue your personal exploration of transatlantic slavery.

Thursday, May 30 6:30 PM Join us for a screening of We Carry It Within Us: Fragments of a Shared Colonial Past. This film explores the collective memory of and differing perspectives on the shared slavery and colonial histories between Denmark and the current U.S. Virgin Islands, and explores the ethical considerations involved in narrating history. A talkback with the film's director Helle Stenum, artist La Vaughn Belle, scholar Dr. Tami Navarro, and writer Tiphanie Yanique will follow.

African Kings and Black Slaves: Sovereignty and Dispossession in the Early Modern Atlantic by Herman Bennett

Bound in Wedlock: Slave and Free Black Marriage in the Nineteenth Century by Tera W. Hunter

The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits by Tiya Miles

Denmark Vesey's Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy by Ethan J. Kytle & Blain Roberts

Remembering 1619 August 12–24 Late August 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of “20 and odd” Africans at Point Comfort in the Virginia colony as part of the ongoing transatlantic slave trade. Curated by the Lapidus Center, this media gallery exhibition will feature rare items from our archives to commemorate this solemn occasion, trace aspects of the beginnings and rise of American slavery, and ruminate on slavery’s continuations.

Exhibitions

The Schomburg Center is the leading venue in the greater New York metropolitan area for exhibitions on the history and culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora. Each year the Schomburg Center curates and hosts exhibitions at the Schomburg and online that are free and open to the public.

Support for The New York Public Libraryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Exhibitions Program has been provided by Celeste Bartos, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos Exhibitions Fund, Jonathan Altman, and Miriam and Ira D. Wallach.

EXHIBITIONS

A Ballad for Harlem Open through December Main Exhibition Hall A glimpse of Harlem’s past, a light for Harlem’s future. Often called the Black Mecca, Harlem has long provided the most visible example of Black placemaking in the 20th and 21st centuries, marked by ebbs and flows of unrest and genius, dreams realized and dreams deferred. A Ballad for Harlem, which contains recent key acquisitions and specific collection highlights related to the Schomburg Center’s broader Home to Harlem initiative, examines several strands of the wide world that is Harlem. Foundational figures like Langston Hughes serves as a guide across the century during which the Schomburg Center has borne witness to Harlem’s changing same. Public Programs are planned for the second half of 2019 to explore ideas informed by A Ballad for Harlem. The exhibition is sponsored in part by the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus, and with exhibition and corresponding public programs sponsored in part by Gucci, and the publication, Dapper Dan’s Harlem.

Crusader: Martin Luther King Jr. Through June 15 Latimer/Edison Gallery Crusader: Martin Luther King Jr. presents an intimate travelogue of King’s pilgrimage to India, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance in Oslo, Norway, and work as a non-violent crusader for civil rights captured by select photographers of the day. The title Crusader is taken from the first biography of King, Crusader Without Violence by Dr. L. D. Reddick in 1959. Reddick served as the curator of the Schomburg Center collection after Arturo Schomburg.

Coming Soon: Dr. Constance Clayton Collection Exhibition Opening July 18 Latimer/Edison Gallery The Art and Artifacts division will display works from the archive of educator and philanthropist, Dr. Constance Clayton.

Shifting the Gaze Opening Thursday, June 11 American Negro Theatre In the new exhibition, Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted, the 2019 Teen Curators examined the Black feminine gaze using the first book documenting Black women photographers as a guide, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe’s 1985 opus, Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers. Moutoussamy-Ashe unravels the histories of these pioneering photographers and creates a space for their narratives to be discovered. As a new generation engages with this work, they wonder: what does the Black feminine gaze mean today? This fourth annual Teen Curators exhibition culminates a year-long after-school arts, education, and cultural literacy project for the high school participants. The exhibition will remain open through spring 2020.

Community First Fridays: Gay Pride Edition Friday, June 7 6:00 PM All are welcome for this annual Schomburg Center tradition during Pride Month. This year we celebrate World Pride and Stonewall 50.

COMMUNITY

FIRST FRIDAYS

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, 6:00â&#x20AC;&#x201C;10:00 PM

After Stonewall: 50 Years of Black & Brown Resistance Thursday, June 27 6:30 PM Held in collaboration with NYPL curators of the exhibition Love and Resistance: Stonewall 50, this program examines the impact of Black and Brown resistance on the start and growth of the gay pride movement in New York City and beyond.

House Music Edition August 7

Learn more: nypl.org/stonewall50 This event is sponsored in part by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Pride Film Fest Saturday, June 15 12:00 NOON

Labor Day Carnival Edition September 6

Explore the Black queer experience in this Pride film festival. See three iconic films for $35: Moonlight, A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde, and, Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin. All proceeds benefit the Schomburg Society and our programs and collections. Tickets on Eventbrite and onsite.

Ghana Entertainment Awards USA Saturday, June 29 7:00 PM The third annual Ghana Entertainment Awards, held at the Schomburg Center, recognize the achievements of Ghanaian artists, industry leaders, and performers. Tickets on Eventbrite.

45th Anniversary July 28â&#x20AC;&#x201C;August 24 harlemweek.com

CALENDAR LISTINGS

May

Friday, June 7 • 6:00—10:00 PM First Fridays Gay Pride Edition

May 1—December 31 Exhibitions A Ballad for Harlem Main Exhibition Hall

Tuesday, June 11 • 6:00 PM Exhibition Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted

Thursday, May 2 • 6:30 PM Conversations in Black Freedom Studies The Struggle Against Jim Crow North: Police Brutality, Mass Incarceration & Educational Discrimination Friday, May 3 • 6:00—10:00 PM First Fridays Black Fraternity & Sorority Edition Friday, May 10 • 5:00 PM Between the Lines With the Fire on High, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Wednesday, June 12 • 1:00 PM Open Archive Augusta Savage Saturday, June 15 • 12:00 NOON Community Pride Film Festival Tuesday, June 18 • 6:30 PM Film Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Thursday, June 27 • 6:30 PM Community After Stonewall: 50 Years of Black & Brown Resistance

Saturday, May 11 • 11:00 AM Youth Programs Junior Scholars Youth Summit: Homecoming Tuesday, May 14 • 6:30 PM Between the Lines Kwame Brathwaite: Black is Beautiful Friday, May 17 • 12:00 NOON–4:00 PM Talks at the Schomburg Malcolm X Birthday Celebration Thursday, May 23 • 1:00 PM Open Archive Celebrate Tap Dance

Saturday, June 29 • 10:00 AM–6:00 PM Between the Lines Schomburg Center Literary Festival Saturday, June 29 • 7:00 PM Community Ghana Entertainment Awards USA

July & August Wednesday, July 10 • 5:00–9:00 PM Film Nollywood in Harlem! Screening of God Calling Thursday, May 30 • 6:30 PM Lapidus Center Presents We Carry It Within Us: Fragments of a Shared Colonial Past

June Wednesday, June 5 • 6:00 PM Professional Development From Brown to the Boycott: Teaching the History of Segregation in NYC Schools

Tuesday, July 18 Exhibitions Clayton Collection Friday, August 7 • 6:00–10:00 PM First Fridays House Music Edition Friday, August 12–24 Community Remembering 1619: A Lapidus Center Digital Exhibition Saturday, August 17 • 10:00 AM Community Harlem Week Events

Special Events With our convenient Harlem location and friendly staff, the Schomburg Center is the perfect venue to make your next special event extraordinary. From intimate gatherings to lavish extravaganzas, we offer several magnificent spaces that can be customized to fit any occasion.

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 library within the New York Public Library system, 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.

Exhibition Hall

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

Courtyard (Seasonal)

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

Media Gallery

BF American Negro Theatre

Media Gallery

Langston Hughes Lobby Cosmogram

Courtyard

Main

Latimer/Edison Gallery Shop

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, 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.