Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture > Scholars-in-Residence Program

About the Schomburg Center

The Schomburg Center offers scholars a unique opportunity to pursue independent projects in a setting that is both a repository for, and an integral part of, black history and culture. Founded during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, the Center and its resources have fueled the imaginations of some of the nation's most distinguished intellectuals, scholars and artists for over 70 years, contributing to works such as Alex Haley's Roots, Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play, Spike Lee's Malcolm X, North of Slavery by Leon Litwack, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr: The Political Biography of an American Dilemma by Charles V. Hamilton, and William Miles' documentary film The Different Drummer: Blacks in the Military.

A broad range of educational and cultural activities in the Center's auditorium and exhibition spaces keeps the spirit of creativity alive throughout the year. One of The New York Public Library's four research libraries, the Schomburg Center provides access to more than 5 million documentary items under optimal environmental and public service conditions. The Center's general and special collections are central to advanced research in the black experience. The Jean Blackwell Hutson General Research and Reference Division includes over 150,000 volumes and 88,000 microforms ranging from literary masterworks to the United States Federal Population Census (1790-1920). The New York Public Library, one of the top three research libraries in the United States, provides a comprehensive context for the conduct of research. The aggregate of general and special collections, totaling more than 39 million items, is contained in its four research units: the Humanities and Social Sciences Library at 42nd Street, the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the Science, Industry and Business Library, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This year's program is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation and the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation.