Women at the helm of the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture follow a long legacy of women leadership
NEW YORK -- Nearly a century ago, Arturo Schomburg founded the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture with his initial gift of more than 10,000 items.
Today, it has grown to a collection of more than 11 million, and overseeing it all are 13 directors, curators and archivists, all of whom are women.
CBS2's Kristine Johnson spoke to some of them.
"It's incredibly cool that women are at the helm of each division here and that together we really are helping contribute to the ways that Black history is able to be written by preserving this collection," said Dalila Scruggs, the curator of photographs and prints.
Scruggs oversees thousands of rare images that offer insight into the history and culture of people of African descent, as does just about every item in the esteemed institution.
"We are actually part of a very long legacy of women leadership in terms of librarianship, and at the Schomburg Center, our namesake for our division is the great Jean Blackwell Hutson, who was a really pioneering African American librarian," said Rhonda Evans, the assistant chief librarian of the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division.
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Evans works alongside Maira Liriano, the associate chief librarian.
"Librarianship has always attracted more women than men in the profession. Where the profession fell short was that the opportunities weren't always there for rising up and being in positions of power within libraries," Liriano said.
But that hasn't been the case here.
Catherine Latimer, who can be seen in a rare film clip with Arturo Schomburg, was the first Black librarian at the New York Public Library.
Another trailblazer: Pura Belpre, the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York just over 100 years ago.
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Tammi Lawson, curator of the art and artifacts division, has been here for 30 years. She says she's inspired by those who've come before her, as well as the opportunity to expand the profile of women artists represented there, such as Augusta Savage.
"It's important to see yourself. It lets you know that, hey, I could do that too, that's a possibility for me. To see a woman in charge, to see that Black women create," Lawson said.
The "woman in charge" that Lawson is referring to is Joy Bivins, the director of Schomburg.
"We're very lucky in this period that our director is focused on this, so it's a lot of fun, and we can collect specifically thinking about the women's voices that have been missed in the collection," said Shola Lynch, curator of the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division.
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Lynch is showcasing the voice of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway -- "A Raisin in the Sun" in 1959.
A recording of Hansberry, along with just about everything at Schomburg, is available free to the public to explore.
Barrye Brown is associate curator of manuscripts archives and rare books. She echoes the sentiment of her colleagues when she talks about the importance of public access and education, as well as breaking down stereotypes.
"I hope that I can play some part in changing that very kind of old and dated, shush kind of imagery of what it means to be a librarian, and in particular, a Black librarian, and for me, a Black curator and a Black archivist," Brown said.
The Schomburg is part of the New York Public Library and is free and open to the public. With a library card, you can explore all these treasures and more.