Arturo Schomburg was an Afro-Latino born in Puerto Rico, where in the fifth grade he was told by a teacher that Black people had “no history, no heroes, no notable accomplishments.” He knew this was untrue, but couldn’t yet access the evidence.
At that young age, he vowed to prove her and all racists intent on distorting history wrong.
After moving to New York in 1891, he embarked on his mission. He read voraciously and collected as many artifacts, stories, and books as he could find that detailed Black history.
Later, he founded the Negro Society for Historical Research, which recorded and collected thousands of books written by people of color worldwide. At one point Schomburg even ran a library out of his home!
He became president of the American Negro Academy, published numerous influential articles on Black history, and was a prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance.
In 1926, the New York Public Library acquired Schomburg’s collection of tens of thousands of books, and this collection eventually became the Schomburg Center - now one of the largest and most prominent research institutions dedicated to Black history.
We now have mountains of evidence of the glory of Black history due to people like Schomburg, but it’s up to us to read it, spread it, and celebrate it!