The Past Is Power’: The Schomburg Celebrates 100 Years

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture celebrated its centennial milestone on April 29, 2026, with a high-profile gala hosted at the New York Public Library. The event served as both a commemoration of the institution’s 100-year history and a recognition of contemporary leaders across the arts, academia, and literature who have continued the legacy of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

During the ceremony, the center awarded Medals of Excellence to five distinguished figures: actress Angela Bassett, musician and artist Solange Knowles, author Edwidge Danticat, historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. These honorees were recognized for their outstanding achievements and their contributions to the preservation and celebration of global Black history.

The gala brought the spirit of Harlem, where the Schomburg Center is permanently located, to the midtown setting of the New York Public Library. According to reporting from EBONY, the evening began at the storied Fifth Avenue entrance, where guests were greeted by the Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir and served culturally curated cocktails by Deniseea Head.

The transition into the formal program was marked by a bass-heavy drumline performance from the musical ensemble Batalá New York. The rhythmic procession was attended by a wide array of cultural figures, including playwright Lynn Nottage, artist Mickalene Thomas, dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones, singer Samara Joy, and actress Amandla Stenberg.

Inside the Celeste Bartos Forum, creative director and event planner Marc Wilson designed the space to evoke a retro chic Harlem supper club. The intentional design included floral jewel tones and specific table lighting intended to harken back to the early days of Harlem. This atmospheric theme complemented a dinner menu curated by Chef Gregory Gourdet.

Preserving the Global Black Diaspora

The Schomburg Center began as the private collection of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a bibliophile dedicated to documenting the achievements of people of African descent. Over the last century, the institution has grown into a massive repository of historical memory. Director Joy L. Bivins noted during the ceremony that the center now houses nearly 11 million items centering the people of African descent, describing the institution as singular in its significance.

The honorees emphasized the critical nature of such archives in an era of cultural erasure. Solange Knowles, appearing in a short film presented during the gala, spoke to the necessity of active preservation.

I’m constantly thinking about the urgency to make sure that history honors and reverences our stories.

This sentiment was echoed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for her work on the 1619 Project. Hannah-Jones highlighted the connection between historical memory and the structure of modern society, stating that Arturo Schomburg understood that the past has power, that how we collectively remember what happened, shapes a society that lives in the present.

Haitian author Edwidge Danticat further emphasized the importance of the institution as an act of inclusion for the diaspora. Danticat described the 100-year milestone as extraordinarily moving, noting that the center’s work is vital at a time when so much is being erased.

A Convergence of Cultural Influence

The guest list reflected the intersection of entertainment, journalism, and fine arts. In addition to the honorees, the event was attended by prominent media personalities and cultural leaders, including Gayle King, Tamron Hall, Sunny Hostin, and Tina Knowles. The presence of figures like Mahogany L. Browne, Novella Ford, and Brandon Blackwood underscored the event’s reach across different generations of Black creative and intellectual leadership.

The celebration functioned not only as a retrospective of the Schomburg Center’s first century but as a statement on the continued necessity of academic and artistic rigor in documenting the Black experience. By honoring a diverse group ranging from a historian like Henry Louis Gates, Jr. To a cinematic icon like Angela Bassett, the gala highlighted the multifaceted ways in which Black history is preserved and broadcast to the world.