In 1925, The New York Public Library opened the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints—the forerunner to today’s Schomburg Center—as a special collection of the 135th Street Library. The division grew greatly the following year with the purchase of the personal collection of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, the distinguished Afro-Puerto Rican scholar and bibliophile. Born in Puerto Rico in 1874, Schomburg collected books, manuscripts, and art that illustrated Black contribution to global history.

Today’s Schomburg Center is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the preservation and study of materials focused on African American, African Diasporic, and African experiences. Its wide-ranging collections illuminate the richness of global Black history, arts, and culture, and continue the tradition of its namesake.

The Schomburg Center Through the Years

Reading room of the Schomburg Collection at the 135th Street Branch Library.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division

Reading room of the Schomburg Collection at the 135th Street Branch Library, ca. 1938–1945. The Othello statue in the middle ground depicting Ira Aldridge as Othello, by Italian sculptor Pietro Calvi, is an iconic piece acquired by Arturo Schomburg himself.
Augusta Savage (center) at the presentation of her bust of author and activist James Weldon Johnson.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division

Augusta Savage (center) with Ernestine Rose and Roberta Bosley Hubert at the presentation of Savage's bust of author and activist James Weldon Johnson, 1939.
135th Street, Adult Reference and Miss E. Rose.

The New York Public Library

Researchers in the 135th Street branch.
Street view of the Schomburg Center with 1970s cars parked out front.

The New York Public Library

The Schomburg Center in the mid-1970s.
Library staff and community members at the groundbreaking for the Schomburg Center renovation.

The New York Public Library

In 2015, the Schomburg Center's 90th anniversary, The New York Public Library unveiled plans for a $22 million renovation of the Center.
Patrons looking at a display case at the Schomburg Center.

Photo by William Farrington

Patrons looking at a display case at the Schomburg Center.
Governor Kathy Hochul with Schomburg Center staff.

The New York Public Library

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announces a dedication of $8 million to the Schomburg Center's renovation.
A crowd dancing inside the Schomburg Center.

Photo by Emmanuel Mensah Agbeble

A crowd dances at the Schomburg Center's First Fridays party.
Jason Reynolds and Roxane Gay seated on stage.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Writers Jason Reynolds and Roxane Gay in conversation.
Sonia Sanchez on stage at the Schomburg Center Literary Festival.

Photo by Isseu Diouf Campbell

Writer Sonia Sanchez on stage at the Schomburg Center Literary Festival.
Dancers performing on the Schomburg Center stage.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Dancers kick off the Schomburg Literary Festival, 2023.
Nikki Giovanni on stage behind a microphone.

Photo by William Farrington

Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni on stage at the Schomburg Center's annual Women's Jazz Festival, 2024.
Patrons viewing a display case.

Photo by Manuel Inoa

Patrons viewing a display case at the opening of the Schomburg's exhibition 'Jimmy! God's Black Revolutionary Mouth', 2024.
Christopher Emdin and Marcus Moore seated on stage.

Photo by William Farrington

Professor and scholar Christopher Emdin in conversation with music journalist Marcus J. Moore at the Schomburg Center, 2024.

Collection Highlights

Explore a selection of the Schomburg Center's 11 million collection items.

A painting depicting figures working, dancing, and playing music under a canopy of trees.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division

Aspects of Negro Life: An Idyll of the Deep South, Aaron Douglas, 1934.
Bust sculpture of a young man.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division

Gamin, Augusta Savage, 1929.
Self portrait of Sojourner Truth.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division

I sell the shadow to support the substance, Sojourner Truth, 1864.
Cover of 'The Negro Motorist Green Book' 1949 edition.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

The Negro Motorist Green Book: 1949: An International Travel Guide, Victor H. Green & Co.
Orange menu cover showing figures dancing on top of the word 'Savoy'.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Menu Collection

Menu from the Savoy ballroom in Harlem, ca. 1926–1958.
Title page and table of contents of 'The Brownies' Book' magazine

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

Title page and table of contents of 'The Brownies' Book' magazine, Vol. 1, no. 4, ed. W. E. B. Du Bois, ca. 1902.
Jean Blackwell Hutson and Langston Hughes holding a book together in front of a bust of Othello.
Long description:

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division

Then curator Jean Blackwell Hutson and writer Langston Hughes in front of a sculpture of Othello by Pietro Calvi, 1954.
Bronze sculpture of a harp.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division

Maquette of Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp), Augusta Savage, 1939.
Blue bookplate reads: 'From the Library of Arthur A. Schomburg'.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

Arturo Schomburg’s personal bookplate, found in some of the books in the Schomburg Center's collections.
Sign for the Schomburg Collection depicting a bust on a stack of books.

The New York Public Library

Sign for what was then called the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History, and Prints, 1940.

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