Harlem's Schomburg Center Curates Black Liberation Reading List

HARLEM, NY — New Yorkers looking to educate themselves on racism, white supremacy and Black liberation in the United States have a new resource curated by Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The Schomburg Center's reading list is one of the most comprehensive available at 95 titles — one for each year since the center's founding. Books and anti-racism have been selling out since protests have broken out in cities around the nation in the wake of the killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd — who died in police custody after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes — but most titles on the Schomburg Center's list can be rented using the New York Public Library's SimplyE e-reader app.

New Yorkers who don't have a library card can apply for one through the SimplyE app. The public library's physical branches are closed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"We know people want and need these resources, whether new to the struggle or just seeking to learn," Kevin Young, director of the Schomburg Center, said in a statement. "This Black Liberation List is just the beginning, but it’s an important step in a lifelong and global journey toward equity."

The Schomburg Center's reading list differs from many that have popped up around the internet in recent weeks because the titles don't focus exclusively on anti-racism, Young added. Many titles on the center's list focus on "Black Liberation in terms of history, poetry, and even joy," young said in a statement.

Books on the Schomburg Center's list include popular titles such as: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, "How to Be an Antiracist "by Ibram X. Kendi, "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and "Between the World and Me "by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Many of the titles on the Schomburg Center's list are also for sale at the Schomburg Shop. There has been an "overwhelming" demand for the books that the shop has in stock.

"We love that people have shown us how much they want these books in their lives... Each sale goes to support the work we do here at the Schomburg Center, and this support has been meaningful for us," Rio Cortez, manager of the Schomburg Shop, said in a statement.