Schomburg Center

Black Librarians & America’s Battles Over Books

July 11, 2024 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

In 1727, Benjamin Franklin and friends formed the Junto Club (from the Spanish junta or assembly) in Philadelphia, a debating society that probed questions of morality, politics and philosophy. The group was composed of twelve members drawn from diverse backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve society.

Access to books was limited at the time. Most of them were imported and expensive. There were no public libraries. [Read more…] about Black Librarians & America’s Battles Over Books

Remembering Gordon Parks In ‘100 Moments’

January 17, 2013 by Kathleen Hulser 2 Comments

Gordon Parks bought his first camera in a pawn shop and got his first real photography job at the New Deal’s Farm Security Administration (FSA).”American Gothic,” his bold arrangement of a White House cleaning lady with a mop in front of a flag, got him in trouble on his first assignment.

As a multifaceted creative artist, Parks stacked up firsts again and again in a long career that has been seeing numerous tributes over the past year. 2012 was the 100th anniversary of his birth, and exhibits are still underway. [Read more…] about Remembering Gordon Parks In ‘100 Moments’

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