Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Celebrates 80th Anniversary with Gala on October 6

The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture will conclude a year-long celebration of its 80th anniversary with a gala at Jazz @ Lincoln Center on October 6, 2006. The funds will support the collections and programs of the Center, which i s the world's leading research facility devoted to the preservation of materials on the global African and African diaspora experiences. Gala co-chairs are Billye S. Aaron and Sherry B. Bronfman, and Honorary Chairs are former President Bill Clinton, New York City Congressman Charles Rangel, and former Mayor David Dinkins. The Center will present the Africana Heritage Awards, honoring exceptional individuals of African descent who have helped to define and shape the 20th-century black experience, to Dr. Maya Angelou, Chinua Achebe, Elizabeth Catlett, Aimé Césarie, Dr. John Hope Franklin, Don Newcombe, Herman Russell, Percy Sutton, and American Negro Theater alumni Harry Belafonte, William Greaves, and Ruby Dee. The gala includes a pre-concert cocktail reception, a tribute concert celebrating this year's Africana Heritage Awards recipients, and a post-concert dinner. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 212-491-2229.

Commemorating the African Burial Ground
In an ongoing commitment to preserving African heritage and legacy, on September 29, 2006, the Center will observe the third commemoration of the reinterment of the ancestors at the African Burial Ground. Since 1991, when the remains of more than four hundred 17th- and 18th-century Africans were discovered during pre-construction work for a federal building in New York City, the discovery has deeply impacted descendants and the broader community. The finding also renewed awareness of the cultural significance and historic preservation of African heritage. President George W. Bush designated the African Burial Ground a National Monument in February 2006.

The Schomburg Center is open to the public during its currently ongoing renovations, which are scheduled for completion in Fall 2006.

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Contact :    Laini Madhubuti Lee    212.491.2259
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