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Norman Lear And Vernon Jordan Among Honorees; Event Raised $1.2 Million For Schomburg Center In Harlem It was where the lawyers in the Brown vs Board of Education case sourced evidence, where actors like Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee got their start, and it’s home to one of the most extensive collection of artifacts from the African Diaspora. It’s Harlem’s Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture, which celebrated 90 years of illuminating black history and culture with a glittering gala. Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr., Al Roker, Deborah Roberts and former NYC Mayor David Dinkins were among the guests at the gala, held Sept. 28 at the Steven A. Schwarzman library building in Manhattan. The event honored Norman Lear, the TV producer behind Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons, political advisor Vernon Jordan, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, poet Elizabeth Alexander and the Ford Foundation. The gala raised $1.2 million to support the cultural institution’s programs and services. As part of the evening, library officials opened up the collection to display some of the Schomburg’s treasures: Malcolm X’s journals from his travels to the Middle East, a telegram from Langston Hughes congratulating Lorraine Hansberry on opening night of her play “A Raisin In The Sun,” and a draft of Richard Wright’s “Native Son.” Founder Arturo Schomburg began collecting artifacts from around the African Diaspora to dispel the idea that blacks hadn’t contributed to civilization. The New York Public Library acquired the collection, and used it as the foundation of its division of Negro Literature, History and Prints, what later became the Schomburg Center. Schomburg’s own grandson, Dean Warren Schomburg, thanked the New York Public Library for “having the vision and commitment to recognize the importance of Arturo’s life and work.” Hit the flip for more from the night: Terrence Jennings

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Harlem’s Schomburg Center Hosts 90th Anniversary Gala