By Christina Walker
“Black people have no history.”
That is what a teacher told Afro-Puerto Rican author and historian Arturo Schomburg when he was in fifth grade. The harsh statement ignited a flame in Schomburg and led him to become a historian who uncovers Black history, according to author Vanessa Valdes.
Valdes, author of “Diasporic Blackness: The Life and Times of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg” visited McKeldin Library to speak about the importance and life of this historian. Determined to publicize African and Black history, Schomburg spent his life collecting Black literature, slave narratives, artwork and diasporic materials from all over the world.
Valdes, a professor from the City College of New York, emphasized Wednesday that every person has a responsibility to unlearn taught histories for the benefit of their own education and for future generations.
“What you’re calling African history, Negro history, are the missing pages of world history,” Schomburg said around 1932, according to Valdes.
Schomburg, born in 1874, had a collection of over 5,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts, 2,000 etchings and paintings, and several thousand pamphlets, according to the New York Public Library.
Valdes said people must understand what the world is losing by erasing populations. Black people, Hispanic people and Indigenous people all played crucial roles in the history of this country, she said.
Manuel Duran Mendez, a doctoral student studying information studies, was fond of Valdes’ work and told his advisor they had to bring her to UMD. Ana Ndumu, Mendez’s advisor and an assistant professor in information studies, contacted Valdes and organized the event.
“We are moved to celebrate Mr. Schomburg during Hispanic Heritage Month,” Ndumu said. “He captures the vibrance and dynamism of both the Hispanic community and Black diaspora.”
Caliph Riley, a senior sociology major, was concerned with how Schomburg dealt with “anti-Blackness” in the Hispanic community. Valdes addressed this growing divide in current society, but said Schomburg was focused on white supremacy and Black excellence.
“For those of you who could say ‘I am Afro-Latino, Afro-Latina, Afro-Latinx,’ but you cannot say you’re black, check yourself,” Valdes said in Spanish.
There are many opportunities to explore African American history on campus as well. The African American History Landmarks Walking Tour provides an opportunity to learn about those African Americans who contributed to the success of UMD.
Kim Nickerson, assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at UMD’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, said he developed this 90-minute walking tour in 2018 to inspire students and make sure no one feels alone at this university.
“You have a history here, an obligation to do well here,” Nickerson said during the tour.
The tour started at Rossborough Inn and traveled to historic landmarks, including UMD’s Wye Oak tree, Frederick Douglass Square, and the many buildings named after influential African Americans, such as the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building.
Nickerson argued that despite the land’s origins, the campus can still be commemorated, so long as we reflect on some of the ugly aspects of its history.
“History is not the past,” Nickerson said quoting James Baldwin, “It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.”
UMD was founded on the contributions and labor of enslaved and free African Americans. Thurgood Marshall, Clarence and Parren Mitchell, Hiram Whittle, Elaine Johnson and many others shaped the campus into the progressive and diverse place it is now, Nickerson said.
“There should be no place on this campus where you feel alone,” Nickerson said. “African American presence is everywhere. You can’t dismiss it.”
At the end of the tour, Nickerson encouraged all students to explore their history, remember it and be proud of it.
“People of African descent suffered here,” Nickerson said.
Featured Image: Vanessa Valdes speaks to an audience of University of Maryland students and faculty on Sept. 4, 2023, about the value of Arturo Schomburg’s work in preserving African history. Photo by Christina Walker.