Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

The story

An Afro-Puerto Rican scholar's personal collection became the foundation of the world's foremost archive of Black life. The Schomburg Center, named for Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, sits on Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem and holds five divisions spanning art, manuscripts, rare books, photographs, and recorded sound. Almost from its inception it was woven into the surrounding community. Today it remains open to the public, hosting readings, exhibitions, and theatrical events — a living institution, not merely a repository.