Annual Arturo Schomburg Lecture and Conversation with Dr. Deborah Willis

January 24 marks the anniversary of the birth of Afro-Puerto Rican scholar Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874-1938), a writer, bibliophile, and historian dedicated to the collection and amplification of the artistic and academic work of people of African descent. Schomburg's seed collection to the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints included more than 5,000 books; 3,000 manuscripts; 2,000 etchings and paintings; and several thousand pamphlets. Schomburg served as curator of the Division from 1932 until his death in 1938. Schomburg's commitment led to the creation of the Schomburg Collection and subsequently the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Join us for our annual event celebrating the life of Arturo Schomburg and illuminating scholars whose work reflects the vision of our namesake.

This year's annual lecture will feature Dr. Deborah Willis, University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and author of The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship. Through her pioneering work in photography and use of archival material, Dr. Willis's latest book explores the crucial role of photography in (re)telling and shaping African American narratives of the Civil War, pulling from a dynamic visual archive that has largely gone unacknowledged. Early in her career, Dr. Willis served as a photo specialist and then curator of the Photographs and Prints division at the Schomburg Center,1980-1992, under the tutelage of luminaries Jean Blackwell Hutson and Ruth Ann Stewart.

A book signing for The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship will follow.

12 PM - 7 PM | Pop-up Display

Visit the center to view a selection of items from Arturo Schomburg's original collection and learn more about the origins of the Schomburg Center. Also on view will be items from Lawrence D. Reddick World War II Project. Reddick was the second curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, 1939-1948. Concerned about Black soldiers' participation in WWII, he initiated a campaign to document the experiences of Blacks in the military using their first hand accounts.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Deborah Willis, Ph.D, is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and exhibiting photographer, where she teaches courses on photography and imaging, iconicity, and cultural histories visualizing the black body, women, and gender. Her research examines photography’s multifaceted histories, visual culture, the photographic history of Slavery and Emancipation, contemporary women photographers and beauty. She received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship and was a Richard D. Cohen Fellow in African and African American Art, Hutchins Center, Harvard University and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Professor Willis received the NAACP Image Award in 2014 for her co-authored book (with Barbara Krauthamer) Envisioning Emancipation. Other notable projects include The Black Female Body A Photographic History, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers – 1840 to the Present, Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present, Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs, a NAACP Image Award Literature Winner, and Black Venus 2010: They Called Her ‘Hottentot’.

ASL interpretation will be provided upon availability of interpreters. Live captioning is available for streaming programs. Additional accessibility requests can be made by e-mail [email protected].

#SchomburgLive

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Readers who wish to purchase copies of The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship, can do so in-person from The Schomburg Shop in Harlem (while supplies last). All proceeds benefit The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

A stunning collection of stoic portraits and intimate ephemera from the lives of Black Civil War soldiers

Though both the Union and Confederate armies excluded African American men from their initial calls to arms, many of the men who eventually served were black. Simultaneously, photography culture blossomed―marking the Civil War as the first conflict to be extensively documented through photographs. In The Black Civil War Soldier, Deb Willis explores the crucial role of photography in (re)telling and shaping African American narratives of the Civil War, pulling from a dynamic visual archive that has largely gone unacknowledged.

IN-PERSON | By registering for this event, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending an in-person program at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold The New York Public Library, its Trustees, officers, agent and employees liable for any illness or injury. If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Events are free and open to all, but due to space constraints registration is requested.  Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. After the event starts all registered seats are released regardless of registration, so we recommend that you arrive early. 

GUESTS Please note that holding seats in the Langston Hughes Auditorium is strictly prohibited and there is no food or drinks allowed anywhere in the Schomburg Center.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at [email protected].

Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, United States