Schomburg Center honors "Freedom To Read" for Juneteenth
NEW YORK - The upcoming Juneteenth holiday recognizes the end of America's enslavement of Africans. The Schomburg Center is highlighting Harlem's past and the significance of liberation through literacy.
Eyes from another time peer out over parkgoers in Harlem. Poster-sized portraits frame the story of Black families finding freedom after the Civil War. In the Schomburg Center's archive, the original images underwent careful conservation efforts.
The display is the product of a digitization project that tops the museum's list of priorities, as director Joy Bivins explained recently to city councilors who control the public library budget.
"Even if they are fragile, even if they are falling apart, they can be photographed appropriately for digitization so that they don't have to be handled again," Bivins said during the hearing.
Two exhibits hanging along St. Nicholas Park's basketball courts are part of "Photoville," on display across the city. The determination in the faces remind us how far we have come since slavery.
"Reading was seen as a fugitive activity," Bivins said, "and so the ways in which we want to center our celebration of freedom is by centering the freedom to read."
Beyond the bookstore's everyday offerings of historical accounts and local writer recognition, the Schomburg Center's Literary Festival kicks off this weekend ahead of Juneteenth.
"We're thinking about the legacy of literacy and thinking about literacy as generational wealth," said Novella Ford, associate director of public programs and exhibitions. "How did you learn to read? Who passed on a book to you that really got you excited?"
On Saturday, Schomburg's block party invites bibliophiles to meet authors and discover new stories.
"We'll have part of the Schomburg Shop outside," Ford said. "We have two stages named, one for James Baldwin and one for Zora Neale Hurston, while people can also come inside for workshops."
The Literary Festival happens Saturday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 515 Malcolm X Blvd.
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