Arthur Schomburg
Historian, Writer & Activist, 1874 - 1938
When Arthur Schomburg was in grade school, he was surprised when his fifth grade teacher claimed that African-Americans had no history, heroes or accomplishments. Since then, he dedicated his life to proving his teacher wrong. Schomburg worked as an elevator operator, bellhop, porter, and printer. On his own time he followed his passion: reading, writing, and collecting everything he could on the history of Africans and their descendants. By the 1920s, Schomburg had amassed a world-renowned collection which consisted of artworks, manuscripts, rare books, slave narratives and other artifacts of Black history. Schomburg, also known as “The Father of Black History”, became an important figure during the Harlem Renaissance. In 1926, his whole incredible collection was sold to the New York Public Library branch in Harlem. After his death, it was renamed in his honor. Today, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has one of the best black history library collections in the world.
