One hundred fifty-one years ago, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to a Black mother and a white father who left early on. At 17, he arrived in New York and later became known as the “Sherlock Holmes of Negro History” for discovering rare and “lost” works by people of African descent.
As a boy, he faced harsh taunts from classmates who claimed Black people had no history or achievements. When he asked a teacher where he could find books about Black history, he was told they didn’t exist. That rejection sparked his lifelong mission: to collect and preserve the voices of his heritage.
Today, the SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE, located at 135th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, houses over 150,000 volumes and nearly five million artifacts, photographs, magazines, and manuscripts. It stands as a living monument and a vibrant Mecca for everyone seeking the truth in Black history.