Arturo Schomburg Featured in Jeopardy! Answer
The November 19, 2020 episode of Jeopardy! featured Arturo Schomburg in an answer. //Credit: NYPL Image ID: 1939249 and Jeopardy!
Are you a devoted Jeopardy! fan? If so, perhaps you caught an NYPL reference in one of the episodes: "Arturo Schomburg's collection in a branch of the N. Y. Public Library in this Manhattan area contributed to a renaissance there," was an answer on the game show on November 19, 2020.
While growing up in Puerto Rico, Mr. Schomburg, who was of African and Latino descent, was told by a grade school teacher that Black people had no history. He knew those words were false. As an adult living in New York, Mr. Schomburg (1874-1938) dedicated his life to collecting books, manuscripts, and artwork documenting the works and achievements of Black people. He sold his "seed library" to The New York Public Library in 1926. These materials went on to become the cornerstone of the Schomburg Center's collections located on Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem.
The $800 clue was part of a Double Jeopardy! round. The question—"What is Harlem?"
The episode was one of the final shows hosted by Alex Trebek, who died on November 8.