This is a biography about Arturo Schomburg. A man who collected materials that showcased African heritage from all over the world. Schomburg collected so many materials that it out grew his house. Therefore, he donated his collection to the New York Library. In the New York Library he created and curated the Negro Division. ( )

Goodreads Review:
Where is our historian to give us our side, Arturo asked, to teach our people our own history?

Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro-Puerto Rican man named Arturo Schomburg. His life's passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora in order to bring to light the achievements of people of African descent. When his collection became so large that it threatened to overflow his house, he turned to the New York Public Library.

At the time, the collection, with Schomburg as curator, was the cornerstone of a new Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints. A century later, it is the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture—and a beacon for scholars all over the world.

In luminous paintings and arresting poems, two of children's literature's foremost African-American scholars track the journey of Arturo Schomburg and his quest to correct and expand the historical record for generations to come.

Arturo Schomburg, an Afro-Puerto Rican, created and curated a collection for a new Negro Division in the New York Public Library emphasizing research in African American culture. Includes Prologue, Timeline, Source Notes, Bibliography

I enjoyed learning about Arthur Schomburg very much. As the daughter of a historian, I take history incredibly seriously and applaud Schomburg's efforts to reclaim African history from the racist attempt to bury it in oblivion. Obviously it's important for black children to have a history to look back on, but as a white person I can't stress the importance of white people acknowledging black and African history. I was amazed to learn while *reading this book* that Audoban's mother was Creole. I had no idea! Which is appalling. I didn't know about Dumas until a few years ago. Whitewashed history is fake history and we all deserve better. Arthur Schomburg dedicated his life to that mission and I applaud him.

I received a free electronic ARC of this book via Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )