Blockson Afro-American Collection Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary

The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection is celebrating a milestone with a commemorative event on Dec. 11. The collection, housed at Temple University’s Sullivan Hall, has been in the business of preserving African and Black history for 40 years.

The collection, founded by author and historian Charles Blockson, is home to more than 700,000 artifacts spanning from 1581 to the present day. Temple celebrated the milestone at the Charles Library.

The special event opened with greetings and speeches from “Joseph Lucia, dean of Temple University Libraries; Gregory Mandel, Temple provost; and Diane Turner, curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.”

Turner began, “We’re excited to mark the 40th anniversary. We are enthusiastically committed to continuing Mr. Blockson’s legacy. Mr. Blockson used to say all the time that it’s not about him. It’s not about any of us. It’s about generations to come who will have access to a record of the global Black experience.”

Vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion, and community impact Valerie Harrison added, “As I have said on many occasions, the Temple University family, Philadelphia community, and people around the world are indebted to Charles Blockson for his unrelenting pursuit of the Black narrative and all of its historical significance.”

Harrison continued, “His legacy will always live on, and we are all better because of that. It is exciting to see the Blockson Collection celebrate 40 years, and I am eager to see the enduring impact that the collection makes over the next 40 years, too.”

The Temple University celebration was attended by Senator Sharif Street, chair of the Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs, Jannie Blackwell, director of the social studies curriculum at the School District of Philadelphia, Ismael Jimenez, and others.

Blockson, who originally founded the collection, originally took on the endeavor of collecting African American materials after sitting in a fourth-grade history lesson with a substitute teacher who told the class that “Negros had no history and that they were born to serve white people.”

The Norristown, Pennsylvania, native started collecting pieces enriched with Black history to prove his teacher wrong; now, his mission has grown into a passion for preserving African history.

Blockson died June 14, 2023, in his home in Gwynedd, but his daughter Noelle P. Blockson recalled fond memories of her father developing his unique system to keep track of all the artifacts in the collection. She told Temple Now, “I remember clearly when shelves were being erected in our finished basement, which turned into his own personal library, and watching boxes of books coming into the home,” she said.

Before his passing, Blockson donated his collection of 20,000 artifacts to Temple. Now, it’s grown to include books, sculptures, newspapers, and other rare ephemera that tell the story of Black history.

Noelle stated, “It has been an incredible honor to watch it augment in recognition and volume over the years. It’s just been a beautiful, full-circle moment to see where it is today. Having people come from around the world to see it is amazing. I’m beyond proud and honored.”

Charles L. Blockson’s Afro-American Collection, Turner, expressed that the space is a place for students to learn more about the Black experience.

“When they come in here and they research and find out these things, for the African-American students, it gives them a sense of pride, and for other students, it gives them an understanding and appreciation of the Black experience,” Turner said.

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