Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
One of the Best Known Names among Black Scholars
"El negro americano tiene que rehacer
su pasado a fin de hacer su futuro. Aunque
es correcto pensar que América es el país
donde no es necesario tener un pasado, lo
que para la nación es un lujo viene a ser
una necesidad primordial para el negro. Una
tradición de grupo debe compensarle por la
persecución sufrida y el orgullo de raza
servirla de antídoto contra el prejuicuio.
La historia tiene que devolverle lo que la
esclavitud le arrebató." -- A. Schomburg
NE OF THE BEST KNOWN NAMES among black scholars throughout the world
is Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. Less known,
however, among both scholars and the general
public, is the fact that Schomburg was Puerto
Rican.
Born in San Juan on January 24, 1874, Schomburg
received his early education in Puerto Rico
and later attended college in the Danish
West Indies. At college, a white student's
comment that the black man had not accomplished
anything and never would was vigorously protested
by Schomburg, who riposted with information
on what Puerto Ricans of African descent
had done. He cited particularly the work of José Campeche, whose paintings had created a stir in art
circles when they were exhibited in Rome,
and of Rafael Cordero, an impoverished cigar maker who had founded
a school and became a revered figure in the
field of education in the island.[Photos: Schomburg Center, New York]
At the age of 23, Schomburg moved to New York
and continued amassing an extraordinary collection of books, manuscripts, etchings
and memorabilia related to the history of
the black people. In 1911, with John Edward
Bruce and others, he organized the Negro
Society for Historical Research. Known as
the "detective of black history,"
this "rotund, florid, gay bibliophile"
traveled to Seville and Granada in search
of records pertaining to the slave trade,
arid later visited France, Germany, England,
and other countries, adding important items
to his collection.
At the time of his death on June 10, 1938,
the collection was already recognized as
one of the world's most comprehensive compilations
of black history, literature and art. Now
called the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(103 West 135th Street, New York, NY 10030),
the collection contains representative works
of every major black author and other items
pertaining to the history of the black people.
And, among the Bruce papers, there are some
60 Schomburg letters which reflect, according
to the Calendar of Manuscripts in the Schomburg
Collection of Negro Literature, "the charming loquacity, the wide
interests, and the indefatigable enthusiasm
of this born bibliophile."
In 1926, the Carnegie Corporation purchased
his collection, and presented it to the New
York Public Library. Retired from his job
in 1929, Schomburg was appointed curator
of the collection in 1932. Source: Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades
(FPH)
NE OF THE BEST KNOWN NAMES among black scholars throughout the world
is Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. Less known,
however, among both scholars and the general
public, is the fact that Schomburg was Puerto
Rican.
He cited particularly the work of 
collection of books, manuscripts, etchings
and memorabilia related to the history of
the black people. In 1911, with John Edward
Bruce and others, he organized the Negro
Society for Historical Research. Known as
the "detective of black history,"
this "rotund, florid, gay bibliophile"
traveled to Seville and Granada in search
of records pertaining to the slave trade,
arid later visited France, Germany, England,
and other countries, adding important items
to his collection.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(103 West 135th Street, New York, NY 10030),
the collection contains representative works
of every major black author and other items
pertaining to the history of the black people.
And, among the Bruce papers, there are some
60 Schomburg letters which reflect, according
to the Calendar of Manuscripts in the Schomburg
Collection of Negro Literature, "the charming loquacity, the wide
interests, and the indefatigable enthusiasm
of this born bibliophile."
