Charles L. Blockson devoted his life to documenting the historical past of the Black Diaspora. A local of Norristown, Blockson is the visionary behind probably the most prestigious collections of African American artifacts within the nation, The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Assortment at Temple College, dwelling to greater than 700,000 objects associated to the worldwide Black expertise relationship from 1581 to the current. On June 14, Blockson handed away at his dwelling at 89 years previous.
This December, the Blockson Assortment is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. Because the story of the Black expertise throughout the globe unfolds, this assortment will proceed to be an important element of the story.
To higher perceive Blockson’s immense contributions to Philadelphia and past, Billy Penn spoke with Dr. Diane Turner, famous writer and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Assortment, about Blockson’s legacy, the significance of preserving Black historical past, and the way forward for the gathering.
How did Mr. Blockson resolve that Temple College was the place to accommodate his assortment?
Turner: A bunch of students led by Physician Lawrence Reddick visited Mr. Blockson’s dwelling in 1973. We have been transferring out of the Civil Rights Motion into the Black Arts and Black Energy actions. I’m positive that influenced their go to to Mr. Blockson’s home, they usually appealed to him to carry his assortment to Temple. At the moment, Mr. Blockson was a bibliophile and was nonetheless accumulating. It took him 10 years to lastly resolve that he would have his assortment delivered to Temple.
One of many principal causes he introduced it to Temple was as a result of it was located within the coronary heart of an African American neighborhood, and he wished the neighborhood to have entry to his assortment, together with Temple workers, college students, and college. In 1984, the gathering got here to Temple, and Dr. Jessie Carney Smith appraised the gathering. At the moment, he had 20,000 objects, and right this moment we have now over 700,000 objects and rising.
When did Mr. Blockson start accumulating his huge assortment?
Turner: Mr. Blockson began accumulating on the age of 9, in 1943. He stated he began as a result of he raised his hand and requested his instructor, “What contributions had Negroes made to American historical past?” His instructor stated, “Negroes had no historical past, and it was their place to serve whites.” So he simply began accumulating something that had coloured Negro, coloured, Ethiopian, Jamaican, and he stored all of them in his dwelling. Additionally, he learn Richard Wright’s “Black Boy”. As a pupil at Penn State, his roommate was [star athlete] Rosie Greer. After the soccer video games, he stated when the blokes would go to events, he would go to the bookstores and see what they’d, after which go to the events.
When did you start working with Blockson?
Turner: After I was engaged on my PhD within the historical past division, I used to be Mr. Blockson’s graduate assistant. I labored for him within the assortment and had the glory to work on the ebook “The Journey of John W. Mosley” with him. So I used to be with him sifting by way of images for that ebook. When he retired in 2006, they did a nationwide search and picked the appropriate individual. Me.
Earlier than coming to Temple, I had a one-year appointment at Rowan College within the historical past division, after which I labored with the Bard [College] Clemente program and likewise taught. When the place got here up at Temple, I utilized for it.
With the banning of books by Black authors in public faculties and the erasure of Black historical past in some curricula throughout the nation, would you say the work of the gathering is extra necessary than ever?
Turner: Historical past is necessary. The supplies we have now within the Blockson Assortment doc the worldwide Black expertise. This isn’t the primary time that books have been banned. When Carter G. Woodson got here out with “The Negro in Our Historical past” again within the ‘20s, a faculty out in Tulsa, Oklahoma adopted the ebook, and the Board of Training banned it. They fired the principal, and the academics have been reprimanded. The primary factor is it’s good to know who you might be, as a result of for those who don’t know who you might be, anyone can identify you.
I believe that there’s at all times been this concern round having all people know the African American expertise. When you take a look at the US, a few of the oldest People are folks of African descent. What we promote within the Blockson Collections is that African American historical past is American historical past and world historical past. It’s not only for African People. It’s for everybody.
Lastly, how do you envision the way forward for the Blockson Assortment?
Turner: I’m hoping now that with the rising assortment Temple will take into account a capital marketing campaign in order that the Blockson Assortment can have a constructing, versus simply being in an area. There’ll be an precise constructing the place we are able to have area, neighborhood, a separate part for movie and pictures, archival versus the library, and a complete host of issues that we may do if we had extra space.
FYI
The Blockson Assortment at Temple College
https://library.temple.edu/blockson
1330 Polett Stroll, 1st Flooring, Philadelphia
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Closed Saturday and Sunday)
215-204-6632