The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Summary
The Five Divisions
Public Programs
The Lapidus Center
The Digital Schomburg
Fellowships
Special Events
References

Summary

The Schomburg Center for study in Black Culture is a study facility devoted to safeguarding and advancing the cultural heritage of African Americans and people of African descent worldwide. It is situated in Harlem, New York City; when the Schomburg Center, a division of the New York Public Library, was founded in 1905, Harlem was mainly a Jewish community (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2013, 1:54). One of the librarians, Ernestine Rose, enlisted the assistance of black individuals to help her develop the librarys collections.

Black academic and bibliophile Arthur Schomburg sold the first significant collection created. Born in Puerto Rico, Arturo Schomburg later relocated to Harlem (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2013, 3:07). He spent his entire life collecting books, manuscripts, and artwork about the history and culture of African Americans and people of African heritage because he was so fascinated by it. Schomburg gave his entire collection to the New York Public Library, which led to the Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints, now known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The collection contained 5,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts, 2,000 etchings and drawings, and thousands of pamphlets (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2013). It served as the foundation for Schomburgs current holdings. After Schomburgs passing in 1938, the Schomburg Collection was given his honor (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2013). The Center is now one of the largest and most complete study centers for black culture worldwide, housing books, manuscripts, photographs, and artwork.

Each division comprising The Schomburg Center has its specific tools and collections. These sections are the Art and Artifacts Division, the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division, the Photographs and Prints Division, and the Research and Reference Division. (The New York Public Library, n.d.-a). Each of the five highlighted sections focuses on a different facet of African American history and culture.

The Schomburg Center is much more than just a library, although it does have a sizable collection of books and printed documents about African American culture. A diverse audience can benefit from the Centers educational materials, programs, and services, which are created to foster greater knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture. As such, anyone who wants to learn more about the contributions made by African Americans to global history and society can consult the Center.

The Five Divisions

African American-related artifacts can be found in the Schomburg Centers Art and Artifacts Division. Films, videos, sound recordings of music, talks, and interviews can all be located in the Schomburg Centers Moving Image and Recorded Sound Section. Personal documents, business files, and rare books about African American history and culture can be accessed in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Section of the Schomburg Center. African American history and culture are depicted in photographs and prints in the Schomburg Centers Photographs and Prints Division. Finally, the Schomburg Centers Research and Reference Division is a center for scholarly work on African American history and culture.

Public Programs

Langston Hughes Auditorium (The New York Public Library, n.d.-b)
The Schomburg Centers Traveling Exhibitions (The New York Public Library, n.d.-b)
Summer Institutes (The New York Public Library, n.d.-b)
The Scholars-in-Residence program (The New York Public Library, n.d.-b)

The Lapidus Center

Inside the Schomburg Institute for Study in African Culture is a research center called the Lapidus Center for the Historical Understanding of Transatlantic Slavery. The facility is named after Ruth and Sid Lapidus, who generously donated money to start it (The New York Public Library, n.d.-f). With an emphasis on the experiences of Africans and people of African ancestry in the Americas, the Lapidus Center is committed to advancing the study of transatlantic slavery and its aftereffects.

The Digital Schomburg

A worldwide audience has access to the materials and resources of the Schomburg Center through the online platform known as Digital Schomburg. In order to increase access to the Centers resources and make them available to researchers, academics, and community members worldwide, the platform was created (The New York Public Library, n.d.-c). Today, Digital Schomburg is one of the most significant digital archives of resources relating to African American history and culture. It comprises various digitized items, including books, manuscripts, pictures, and audio recordings.

Fellowships

A range of fellowships from The Schomburg Center is available to support academic work in African American, African Diaspora, and African studies. The Scholars-in-Residence Program, one of the Centers premier fellowship programs, offers stipends to support research projects that use the Centers collections and facilities (The New York Public Library, n.d.-e). These scholarships are intended to offer scholars and researchers financial support, research assistance, and access to the Centers collections and resources at all stages of their careers.

Special Events

Between The Lines: Chrome Valley by Mahogany L. Browne (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)
Modern Spain and the Early Travels of Arturo Schomburg (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)
Conversations In Black Freedom Studies: Writing Black Activist Lives (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)
Films at the Schomburg: Little Richard (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)
The Schomburg Centers 11th Annual Black Comic Book Festival (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)
Poets on Community & Catharsis: Reading and Write-in (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)
Celebrating Chick Webb: Stephanie Stein Crease and Ulysses Owens Jr. (The New York Public Library, n.d.-d)

References

National Human Genome Research Institute. (2013). Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Steven Fullwood [Video]. YouTube. Web.

The New York Public Library (n.d.-a). About our divisions. Web.

The New York Public Library (n.d.-b). About the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Web.

The New York Public Library (n.d.-c). Digital Schomburg. Web.

The New York Public Library (n.d.-d). Events. Web.

The New York Public Library (n.d.-e). Fellowships and education at the Schomburg. Web.

The New York Public Library (n.d.-f). Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!