About the Charles Blockson Afro-American Collection
The mission of the Charles Blockson Afro-American Collection is to preserve and to disseminate the history of people of African descent to support the study of Africa and its Diaspora, with a special emphasis on the experiences of African Americans in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley region.
Charles L. Blockson established the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University Libraries in 1984. He chose Temple University to house his collection because of the university’s diverse student body and its location in the heart of the African American community in North Philadelphia. The Collection has meaning to ordinary people in the North Central Philadelphia community and has been referred to as the “people’s collection.” The Collection houses rare books, including 16th century descriptions of Africa by Alexandri Sardi (1557) and first editions such as Phillis Wheatley (1773); primary source materials contain music and manuscripts; letters signed by Haitian Presidents Alexandre Petion and Jean-Pierre Boyer; and the Slave Narratives Collection of writings by Olaudah Equiano (1789), Sojourner Truth (1850) and Frederick Douglass (1845). Visual holdings include broadsides, paintings and over 500,000 photographs, prints, and negatives taken by photojournalist John W. Mosley, documenting notable African American entertainers, the Negro League baseball players, the Penn Relays, the Pyramid Club, the social and political personalities of Philadelphia, and the activities of ordinary people. The collection also includes personal and organizational papers, oral history and artifacts.
Since September 2007, the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University Libraries has made many accomplishments, beginning with a successful move to a newly renovated space. A major goal has been high visibility of the collection. The Collection received major press coverage during the move, a new Collection’s brochure was designed and distributed at President Ann Weaver Hart’s ribbon-cutting on March 11, 2008, two public programs with partnerships from GPTMC and Boyer School of Music were well received by the Temple University community and the North Central community surrounding the university, the Collection’s website was updated, three exhibits were opened, and tours to the collection included student and adult groups such as Vaux High School.
