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Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture 
Current | Upcoming | Past | Online | Exhibition Info Moneta Sleet, Jr.: Pulitzer Prize Photojournalist  This retrospective collection of 125 photographs, drawn largely from images Sleet shot for Johnson Publishing, divides his work into six sections: the era of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Civil Rights Movement; Africa; Photo Essays; Portraits; and Children. read more... Black Art: Treasures from the Schomburg  To help commemorate the Grand Opening of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture's renovated facilities, this exhibition offers a sampling of the diverse forms of artistic expression and trends documented in the Center's collection. Part of a long and enduring tradition of art-making in the African world, these works eloquently attest to the fact that African peoples, like all members of the human family, have been actively and creatively involved in producing art of extraordinary beauty, meaning, and power, regardless of where and under what circumstances they have lived. Image: Dance Composition, 1976, by Eldzier Cortor Stereotypes vs. Humantypes: Images of Blacks in the 19th and 20th Centuries  This exhibition uses vintage photographs of black people, as well as representational paintings, sculptures and other artworks to challenge these mythological images and present accurate, humanistic depictions of these maligned black folk. read more... Image: Humantypes: Vaudevillians Ada and George Walker, 1905. Stereotypes: Topsy from a promotional poster for the Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company, mid-19th century; and Jim Crow, the stereotypical character portrayed in blackface by Thomas Dartmouth Rice (known as the “Father of American minstrelsy”) beginning in 1828. Commemorating New York's African Burial Ground: A National Monument  This special exhibition will fully explore the African Burial Ground, from its unearthing in 1991 to the 2006 Presidential declaration making it America's first National Monument commemorating a community of enslaved African men, women, and children. From the local community's struggle to "stop the digging" and to properly protect and preserve the ancestral cemetery, Commemorating New York's African Burial Ground will include documents, photographs, artifacts reproductions, and video footage to recall the historic, but long-forgotten cemetery's origins, abandonment, and rediscovery--and the public's journey to transfrom the site into a national monument. Image: Rodney Leon's African Burial Ground memorial design The African Presence in the Americas  The African Presence in the Americas originally made its debut at the Center in April 1991. Fifteen years later, the traveling exhibition version will be on display. This exhibition was designed to introduce viewers to the dynamics and dimensions of African peoples' 500-year history in the Americas. African Presence explores four broad themes--migration, work, culture, and resistance--that cut across time and geography, illuminating the commonalities and differences in background, culture, gender, and social status of these African Americans. Please join us as we welcome back, for a limited time, this wonderful exhibition. Changing Streetscapes: New Architecture and Open Space in Harlem  Walk down almost any street in Harlem and you will see a transformation underway. Changing Streetscapes highlights recent construction and development in five areas: housing, commercial development, cultural and institutional projects, and landscape and planning. This exhibit offers a snapshot of the unfolding fabric of Harlem. Image: Changing Streetscapes In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience  By boat, on foot, by train, car, and plane, Africans and their descendants have crossed oceans and land, sailed up and down rivers, and put down roots and pulled them up again. Like Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Wyclef Jean, Barack Obama, Edwidge Danticat, Ossie Davis, Colin Powell, 35 million African Americans are heirs to migrations that have shaped this country and the African Diaspora. With images, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and music, In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience tells the story of a people whose movements over the last 500 years, both coerced and willing, inspired a culture and shaped a nation. For public program information and exhibit hours, visit www.schomburgcenter.org.
Image: Stephanie S. Hughley (photo by Keith Hadley) Through the Eyes of the Gods: An Aerial View of Africa  This limited exhibition, sponsored by National Geographic, features aerial pictures of Africa taken by award-winning photographer Robert Haas. For his new National Geographic book, Haas flew across the continent, hanging out of helicopters and light planes to capture an array of spectacular images offering a glimpse of Africa's landscapes, animals, and people. Malcolm X: A Search for Truth  Malcolm X: A Search for Truth will provide the first opportunity for the general public to examine materials from the Malcolm X collection. The Malcolm X collection is unique in that it contains a wide range of speeches, sermons, radio broadcasts, diaries, correspondence, and other documents handwritten by Malcolm X or typed and edited at his direction. Most significantly, Malcolm X: A Search for Truth will offer the public fresh new insights into the nature of his thoughts and development, as well as his multifaceted, at times seemingly contradictory, persona and personality. In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience By boat, on foot, by train, car, and plane, Africans and their descendants have crossed oceans and land, sailed up and down rivers, and put down roots and pulled them up again. Like Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Wyclef Jean, Barack Obama, Edwidge Danticat, Ossie Davis, Colin Powell, 35 million African Americans are heirs to migrations that have shaped this country and the African Diaspora. With images, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and music, In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience tells the story of a people whose movements over the last 500 years, both coerced and willing, inspired a culture and shaped a nation. For public program information and exhibit hours, visit www.schomburgcenter.org.
Image: Stephanie S. Hughley (photo by Keith Hadley) Romare Bearden: From the Studio and Archive  Drawing on the collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and collectors Russell Goings and Evelyn N. Boulware, this exhibition explores aspects of Harlem Renaissance painter Romare Bearden’s approaches to developing his craft. On display are selected works by Bearden, as well as rarely seen drawings, books and sketchbooks from the artist's personal library. Image: The Siren's Song, painting by Romare Bearden. From the collections of Russell Goings and Evelyn N. Boulware. hiphoproots: origins and impact  In celebration of Hip-Hop Month, the Hip-Hop Archive Project presents an exhibition focusing on the historical value of hip-hop and its preservation. The exhibition will feature hip-hop artifacts from the collections of Cold Crush Brother A.D. Harris and photographer Joe Conzo. Archives Image: Photograph by Joe Conzo Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery  The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2004 as the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition, and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has elected Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery to be its official travelling exhibit, highlighting the triumph of the principles of liberty, equality, and the dignity of human rights. Lest We Forget documents and interprets the obstacle-ridden but life-affirming experiences of enslaved African peoples in the Americas, and examines the extraordinary capacity of human beings to confront and transcend oppression, and to triumph over state-sanctioned injustice. Blacks and the United States Constitution  Blacks and the United States Constitution examines the pivotal role of race in American Constitutional history, the black presence in American society, the dynamics of race relations in the United States, and the history of black freedom struggles. Highlights include proceedings of nineteenth-century black conventions, David Walker's fiery Appeal using natural rights philosophy to justify slave violence in pursuit of freedom, Secretary of State William H. Seward's signed certificate attesting to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court's formal judgment in Brown v. Board of Education. Image: The Colored National Convention held at Nashville, April 5, 6, and 7. Published: May 6, 1876 The James Baldwin Series  The James Baldwin Series is presented in celebration of Baldwin's 80th birthday year. Photographer and visual artist Ted Pontiflet creates a stunning tribute to the legacy of James Baldwin through his collection of montage digital prints and candid photographic prints. Harlem Is... The Gospel Tradition  Community Works presents an exhibition that celebrates the rich tradition of Harlem’s religious institutions by honoring four churches at the forefront of the migration to Harlem: the Abyssinian Baptist Church, Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Mount Oliver Baptist Church, and St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. The exhibition will feature a detailed history of each church as well as the powerful words of twelve of Harlem’s current spiritual leaders, reflections on the contributions that Harlem’s religious institutions have made to the community and to American and world culture. Exhibition Brochure (PDF) Image: Abyssinian Baptist Church Blacks and the United States Constitution Blacks and the United States Constitution examines the pivotal role of race in American Constitutional history, the black presence in American society, the dynamics of race relations in the United States, and the history of black freedom struggles. Highlights include proceedings of nineteenth-century black conventions, David Walker’s fiery Appeal using natural rights philosophy to justify slave violence in pursuit of freedom, Secretary of State William H. Seward’s signed certificate attesting to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s formal judgment in Brown v. Board of Education. Image: The Colored National Convention held at Nashville, April 5, 6, and 7. Published: May 6, 1876 Gift of Life Project 2004  The Gift of Life Project 2004 features collages created by The Boys & Girls Harbor art students from Genesis & P.A.C.T. programs, who learned about young people in Chad, Niger, and Brazil from research, presentations from UNICEF specialists, and photojournalists. The collages they created reflect the plights of their peers and were auctioned off to raise money to promote child advocacy, clean water programs, and medicine in those regions through UNICEF programs. (In the past, Harbor students have raised more than $20,000, of which 100 percent was donated to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that benefited youth in Sierra Leone, Angola, and India.) Their artwork has been exhibited internationally at the UN’s World Conference in Durban and nationally at the United Nations, Sotheby’s, Inc., Rush Arts Gallery, and the Blue Heron Arts Center. This year the students’ collages will be exhibited at the Schomburg Center, the Romare Bearden Foundation, the United Nations, and Lincoln Center’s Cork Gallery. Senegalese Contemporary Art Exhibition  Featuring works by four of Senegal’s leading contemporary artists: Chalys Leye, Mbaye Ousseynou dit Seyni, El Hadji Mboup, and Mbaye dit Tita. The Buffalo Soldiers: The African-American Soldier in the U.S. Army  This exhibition, which features items from the collections of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Powell and illustrations by Avel de Knight, explores the victories and challenges of the 9th and 10th Cavalries, composed of African Americans and established by the United States Congress in July 1866. Dubbed Buffalo Soldiers by Native Americans, the mounted regiments developed into two of the most distinguished fighting units in the Army during the remainder of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. They also explored and mapped vast areas of the Southwest, strung hundreds of miles of telegraph lines, built and repaired frontier outposts that bloomed into towns and cities, and protected crews building the railroads. Image: John T. Glass, Scout, ca. 1885 Collection of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jubilee: The Emergence of African-American Culture  This exhibition, a companion to the Schomburg Center's four-color illustrated history of the same name (published by National Geographic), documents the courageous and innovative ways that enslaved Africans developed their own unique culture in the midst of slavery, and examines how that culture developed and flourished through the years after emancipation to the turn of the century. Invoking the Spirit: Worship Traditions in the African World  The product of more than twenty-five years of travel and research by New York Times photojournalist Chester Higgins, Jr., this photographic essay explores worship practices across ethnic, national, cultural, and religious boundaries throughout the African world and documents the vitality and diversity of the global African religious experience. The images featured in the exhibition also serve as the central theme of Higgins’s book, Feeling the Spirit: Searching the World for the People of Africa. Culled from his archive of almost a million photographs documenting the global African experience, the photographs in Invoking the Spirit explore the myriad ways in which African peoples venerate their sacred deities, invoking their presence and spirit in their life worlds. Documented here are the sacred places African peoples—in Africa and the Americas—create and/or consecrate; the diverse spiritual leaders who are involved in the conduct of worship activities; the universal use of prayer as a formal means of communicating with God and the spirits; the rites, rituals, and ceremonies Africans use to pay tribute to God and invoke His/Her presence; and the roles of music and dance in religious services, ceremonies, and rituals. Image: © Chester Higgins, Jr. All Rights Reserved. Ralph Johnson Bunche, Nobel Laureate: A Centennial Retrospective  A centennial exhibition honoring the achievements of Nobel laureate Ralph J. Bunche and featuring artifacts, documents, and other materials from the Schomburg Center’s Ralph J. Bunche Collection. The exhibition will be divided into four sections: family/education, scholarship/activism, government, and diplomacy. History, a sculpture by Dumile Feni The South African Consulate General and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture present History, a sculpture by Dumile Feni, to be permanently housed in the Constitutional Court, Johannesburg, South African, on view at the Schomburg Center through Friday, October 31, 2003. Harlem Is ...  In association with Community Works and the New Heritage Theatre Group, the Schomburg Center presents a multimedia, intergenerational, living history program that celebrates 30 Harlemites (ages 50 to 100) whose contributions in the fields of art, music, politics, community service, and sports define Harlem’s rich and diverse cultural legacy. On view at the Schomburg Center before beginning a citywide tour, Harlem Is ... honors such luminary trailblazers as opera singer Betty Allen, historian Dr. Yosef ben-Jachannan, Afro-Latin Jazz musician Joe Cuba, author Rosa Guy, and many others. Community Works will present related performances, symposia, group tours, workshops, and tours of the community. The Malcolm X Collection: A Preview  In January 2003 a large collection of Malcolm X's diaries, photographs, letters, and other materials were placed on long-term deposit by the Estate of Betty Shabazz at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. While the papers will be available to researchers after approximately eighteen months of processing and preservation work is completed, The Malcolm X Collection: A Preview offers a glimpse into the viewpoints and personal reflections of the dynamic and vastly influential figure who spearheaded a vigorous fight for the rights of African Americans in the 1960s. The Art of African Women: Empowering Traditions  The Art of African Women: Empowering Traditions exhibition and program series presents an unprecedented survey of African artistic traditions that have been passed down from mothers to daughters for centuries. The exhibition features more than 75 stunning photographs by internationally acclaimed photojournalist Margaret Courtney-Clarke. read more... Image: Francina Ndimande, Mabhoko, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Photograph by Margaret Courtney-Clarke for the exhibition The Art of African Women: Empowering Traditions. Celebrating The Langston Hughes Centennial (1902 - 2002)  February 1, 2002, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Langston Hughes, one of the most prolific American writers of the 20th century. Hughes first gained international renown as "the poet laureate of the Negro" during the Harlem Renaissance. read more... Rising Above Jim Crow: The Paintings of Johnnie Lee Gray  A trove of paintings by a previously unheralded, self-taught artist provides the core of this new exhibition, offering a personal vision of the strength and creativity of African Americans during the final decades of segregation. A textile worker and carpenter by trade, Johnnie Lee Gray completed some 150 paintings before his death in 2000, at age fifty-eight. read more... Image: Granny and the Holy Ghost by Johnnie Lee Gray. Used with the permission of Mr. Reginald Thomas. Africana Age: African and African Diasporan Transformations in the 20th Century  This exhibition draws on more than 350 images, complemented by selected documents and artwork from the Schomburg Center's research collections, to survey the social, political, and cultural struggles of the black world during the 20th century. Mother Africa: Masterpieces of African Motherhood  From the earliest sculpture of sub-Saharan Africa through the 20th century, one of the most dominant and recurring themes is that of the mother and child. These sculptures generally portray the mother as a nurturing presence, a symbol of strength and a source of power. Despite the fact that African peoples share a common respect for the relationship between mother and child, representation of that relationship has varied significantly among Africa's diverse cultures and religions. The exhibition Mother Africa: Masterpieces of African Art celebrates that diversity with the presentation of 50 unique sculptures selected primarily from the collection of Reynold C. Kerr. African American Writers: Portraits and Visions Over a period of thirty years, Lynda Koolish has been photographing African-American authors in their homes, in public readings, at universities, and at conferences and festivals. As this exhibition of her photographs presents the faces of acclaimed African-American writers, it also highlights the diversity within African-American literature and celebrates the many genres it explores. The Legacy of Arthur A. Schomburg  This exhibition, presented in conjunction with the Center's 75th Anniversary celebration, traces the Schomburg Center's evolution from 1925 to the present. Africana Age: African and African Diasporan Transformations in the 20th Century This exhibition presents a chronological survey of the political and cultural struggles of the black world during the 20th century. It also celebrates the achievements of African and African Diasporan peoples during the 20th century and reflects on the challenges facing them in the 21st century. The Schomburg Center: A 75th Anniversary Retrospective An exhibition focusing on highlights in the Schomburg Center's history. Lest We Forget: The Triumph over Slavery  Based on recent scholarship, Lest We Forget: The Triumph over Slavery, the Schomburg Center's inaugural 75th Anniversary exhibition, acknowledges the oppression, exploitation, and victimization that characterized the transatlantic slave trade and 400 years of slavery in the Americas. read more... The Struggle for Black Freedom & the Emancipation Proclamation  Abraham Lincoln's handwritten draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on September 22, 1862, is considered by many to be the third most important document in United States history, after the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It has rarely been seen by the general public, and has never before been exhibited in a black community. The unique viewing of this historic document (on loan from the New York State Library in Albany and exhibited in a specially constructed display unit) begins on September 22, exactly 138 years from its original signing, and runs through October 1, 2000. Black New Yorkers/Black New York  The final exhibition in the series Black New Yorkers/Black New York offers a historical overview of the last century of growth and development of the black population in the five boroughs, utilizing documents, photographs, and memorabilia to present demographic, chronological, and thematic surveys reflecting the diversity and complexity of the 20th-century black New York population. read more... New York Black 100 Prominent African American civic, cultural, business, and religious leaders of the past century are honored in this exhibition. Suggestions for inclusion were received from thousands of New Yorkers on forms attached to a special Black New York 100 Project brochure. Black New York Photographers of the 20th Century This exhibition features the work of African American professional photographers who were invited to photograph blacks in all walks of life in the five boroughs. These images present the many faces of black New York on the eve of the 21st century. Black New York Artists of the 20th Century: Selections from the Schomburg Center Collections Works by 125 black New York artists who are represented in the Schomburg Center's collections reflect the art of the Harlem Renaissance, the WPA period, the Abstract and Neo-Expressionist styles, up to today's computer-generated imagery. The Performing Arts in the Visual Arts An art exhibition celebrating black performing arts traditions, with more than 30 works by Romare Bearden, Allen Stringfellow, and Charles Alston. This show complemented the Schomburg Center's major exhibition Blacks on Stage: Selections from the Helen Armstead-Johnson Collection. Blacks on Stage: Selections from the Helen Armstead-Johnson Collection Over 300 items from the Helen Armstead-Johnson Collection and related materials from other Schomburg Center performing arts collections are used to survey the presence of blacks in the performing arts -- music, dance, and dramatic expression -- during the 19th and 20th centuries. Ademola: Graphic Art & Design A retrospective survey of graphic and illustrative art by Ademola Olugebefola. The Legacy of the Panthers: A Photographic Exhibition Produced by the Huey P. Newton Foundation, this exhibition strives to capture the central role of the black community in the mission and programs of the Black Panther Party. Harlem: The Vision of Morgan and Marvin Smith Nearly 300 items survey the lives, art, and work of Harlem's premiere twin photographers. Featuring 150 photographs taken by Morgan and Marvin Smith, the exhibition serves as a reminder of what these photographers viewed as the best Harlem had to offer from the 1930s through the 1950s. Also included are their paintings, drawings, and needlework, along with artifacts and memorabilia. Many Rivers to Cross: The African-Canadian Experience This exhibition conveys an impression of the place that people of African descent have long occupied in the Canadian mosaic. It deals with immigration, culture, the struggle for justice, and work, all in the context of a complex and supportive community life. America's Reconstruction: People and Politics After the Civil War The first major exhibition devoted exclusively to telling the story of Reconstruction, America's Reconstruction includes more than 250 artifacts and images gathered from 35 museums and libraries throughout the country. Visions Speaking to the Soul: A National Conference of Black Artists Invitational Exhibition A national exhibition organized by the NCA featuring 60 works by 30 prominent African American artists, including paintings, prints, sculpture, and photographs. Bearing Witness: African-American Vernacular Art of the South A display of one of the world's outstanding collections of present-day work by self-taught, Southern African-American artists. Drawn entirely from the holdings of Ronald and June Shelp are 80 works by 25 artists, ranging from assemblages made out of root, hair, and costume jewelry by the late Bessie Harvey of Dallas, Georgia, to large-scale canvases and works on paper created by Thornton Dial, Sr. of Bessemer, Alabama. Approximately one-third of the works on view are being exhibited for the first time. Colored Town/Overtown 1947: Max Waldman Images of a Southern Black Community An exhibition of 50 black-and-white photographs by Max Waldman documenting the historic Colored Town/Overtown community in Dade County, Florida, in 1947. Historically the largest and most vibrant black community in Southern Florida, Colored Town was the cradle of business and culture for African Americans from 1896 to the 1960s. Like many photojournalists of the Depression and post-Depression eras, Waldman made images that both depicted the harsh social realities of the times and affirmed the humanity and dignity of his subjects. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Bicentennial Exhibition 1796-1996: A Faith Journey A celebration of the denomination's bicentennial. The Schomburg Legacy: Documenting the Global Black Experience for the 21st Century  The last in a series of three exhibitions at the Schomburg Center commemorating the Library's Centennial and the Center's 70th anniversary, this exhibition focuses on the development of the Schomburg Center's collections since Arturo Alfonso Schomburg served as curator. Among the approximately 300 items on view are personal papers of artists and public figures including Nobel peace laureate Ralph Bunche and singer Lena Horne. Unique objects exemplifying the collections' diversity and geographic scope range from a 7th- or 8th-century Egyptian Coptic tunic to a Pullman porter's uniform. Works of important writers and artists represented in the exhibition include the original manuscripts of Richard Wright's Black Boy and original art by painter Romare Bearden. Arturo Alfonso Schomburg: The Man and His Times The second in a series of three exhibitions at the Schomburg Center commemorating the Library's Centennial and the Center's 70th anniversary, this exhibition offers an overview of the life of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, from his birth in Santurce, Puerto Rico, in 1874 to his death in New York City 64 years later. The objects included in the exhibition comment on both the life of Schomburg and the world in which he lived. On view in the exhibition are numerous rare photographs and letters, including an early photograph of Schomburg at the presentation of the Harmon Foundation Awards, and a letter to his mentor, the journalist and historian John E. Bruce, dated 1911. Best known as a bibliophile, Schomburg was also a patron of the arts, lecturer, scholar, educator, and social activist. The exhibition reveals the many facets and contributions of this complex man and the forces that influenced his visionary work in helping to establish the Schomburg Center 70 years ago. Hansen's Harlem: A Commemorative Exhibition The Schomburg Center presents this exhibition of approximately 150 photographs in tribute to Austin Hansen, one of Harlem's premier photojournalists and studio photographers, who died on January 23, 1996 at age 85. The exhibition offers highlights from Mr. Hansen's collection of over 500,000 prints and negatives, which the Center acquired over an eight-year period beginning in 1982. Arturo Alfonso Schomburg: Race Man Objects from the 10,000-item private library of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, the foundation of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, illustrated how Schomburg documented and preserved the histories and heritages of peoples of African descent and their place in the making of world civilization. Included in the exhibition was one of the rarest books in the world, the 16th-century Ad Catholicum, by Juan Latino, the earliest imprint by an African author in the Schomburg Center. Schomburg's dedication to the encouragement of scholars and artists was demonstrated by the 1937 gouache on paper entitled The Curator (Arthur A. Schomburg) by Jacob Lawrence. |